Getting Better

Did your family ever have one of those Advent calendars?

During the month of December, my family kept the Advent calendar in the dining room, right on top of the buffet side board where we served dinner.  I had a very large family.  During Advent, each kid would take a turn opening one of the little calendar doors to see what was inside for that day.  Then, as each person moved down the line to serve dinner, we would be able to look inside and see what the gift was behind the door.  It was usually some kind of Christmas object or symbol of the coming feast: a candy cane, a wreath, a star, etc. 

 

The more we opened, the better we saw.  We closer we got to Christmas. To Christ.

Advent really is a season for opening doors.  Each day we get a little better all the time.  And we can learn from St. Joseph how to get better at it.  To change the closed into the open. 

Today’s Gospel shows the husband of Mary, confused and fearful about the fact that his wife is pregnant before they had even slept together.  At first, Joseph considers his options and starts closing doors shut.  Joseph was afraid.  He wants to keep the problem quiet so no one else hears about it.  He decides to divorce his wife. 

Joseph opts to close the door on this relationship with Mary.  Then he had a dream with a very powerful message.  The dream said to welcome Mary into your house.  Open the door for her.  Because there’s a gift inside that you can’t see yet.  It’s a gift from the Holy Spirit and he will save people from closed hearts.

And God has the same dream for us that Joseph had:  Do not be afraid to take the difficult into your home.

God’s dream is that we approach our fears with trust, open our closed doors a little, and know that there is a gift inside the poor that we can’t see yet. The gift is Jesus.  The one who saves us from our sins.  Advent is a season for opening doors to discover hidden gifts.

The little advent calendar with opening doors says the time is right to open doors to the challenging.  In your own personal way, bring the lowly into your house and into your heart trusting that they carry a gift not just for you but for the world.  That gift is ultimately the Christ child.