The Meaning of Advent

A new season has begun, and this season impacts the lives of most musicians. As a church musician, I am intensely aware of the advent of Advent. Services will soon start to pile up on top of one another, and I will start to hum the theme song of church musicians during this time of year, "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen." For those who work in the secular musical world, annual concerts will consume the calendar. School choirs will have "holiday" concerts, and symphony orchestras will dust off their parts to Handel's "Messiah."

When the season is over all of us will sigh a deep sigh, and take a quick inventory of the gifts yet to be purchased, cards yet to be addressed, and decorations yet to be hung.

We work hard during this time of year with the faint idea that there is some "greater meaning" out there to be discovered, and that our musical production is somehow responsible for helping everyone discover it. Whether our audience is primarily made up of religious or secularly-minded people, it seems that we have the world's attention for a few days, and we know that we must work overtime to make this year's effort stand out. We give very little attention, however, to our own journey of discovery.

I have been thinking that the "greater meaning" we are seeking is not "out there," but "in here." As I have been reading the Bible stories again in planning this year's services, I have noticed the different roles being played. There are announcers and there are seekers. The angels have the information and make the announcement. The shepherds can't begin to understand the announcement, but feel compelled to seek its subject and take a closer look. I began to think about the life of the Advent musician, a life that includes hectic rehearsals, hurried planning, and little rest or contemplation. I can frequently let myself believe that my musical task is to transport the audience to an "out there" of heavenly understanding. I am in danger of seeing myself as a latter day Christmas angel, announcing the good news from on high. What if, rather than trying to lead like the angels, I were trying to seek like the shepherds? What if the singers and parishioners with whom I work saw in me a strong desire to seek the meaning of Christmas, rather than a determination to lead them to that meaning?

In the mystical idea of the "word becoming flesh" we can see a directional arrow of prioritization. When the gospel writer sought to describe God's journey toward an ultimate creative accomplishment, the arrow pointed toward earthly, daily life. Can't we learn from that directional truth that our best leadership might be to help our singers and parishioners to find the "greater meaning" they seek in a daily, earthly life of peace and goodwill, rather than in a hurried, honking, hectic drive to a concert of heavenly music? And wouldn't they enjoy the concert more if the "greater meaning" had already occurred in that daily life?

I think I might have made this difficult season even more difficult. But surely it's possible that it might be more rewarding, too.