Advent 1: The Darkness of The New Year

The Lo-Fi Gospel Minute

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As you likely know, I write today on the first Sunday in Advent. it is the beginning of a new liturgical year for many Christians.

Here at Richmond Hill, we follow the traditional lectionary. So, this morning, we heard the first readings for the Daily Office for Advent and Year Two. I was struck by all the darkness… The difficulties in history and the challenges that people of faith faced in those readings. Amos starts off so difficulty. But this is not a Bible study. Not interested in Bible studies these days. I probably should be given how people are misusing the Bible left and right in the name of America and Jesus and firearms, but I just don’t find it helpful.

I find the liturgy helpful.

I find the lectionary helpful.

The bibliocentrism of American Christianity, however, is deeply problematic. The Bible, though foundational, is not the font and summit of Christian identity. The community, that is to say the Church, is the font and summit of Christian identity. The social and relational practices, these are what to define the Christian. The Bible remembers this for us. Read Acts again. This was the Church before the Bible. This was the Church of the apostles. This was the Church of the disciples. This was the Church that followed the way of Jesus rather than following what the Bible says. This was the community of believers that Paul was writing to. This was the community of believers who gave us the gospel stories. So often, we put the Bible before the Church. And that is simply a mistake. First, there was the people. Then, there was the Bible. The people tell us what the Bible means. The Bible does not tell us who the people are. The Bible may contain “all things necessary for salvation,” but it is not salvific in itself.

So, here we are in advent and we will hear screed upon screed about the truthfulness of the biblical narrative. Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25 and not on Jesus’s birthday? That question will plague us again. We will forget that it was a liturgical decision.

We will cry, “The Bible is wrong! Christmas was a vast conspiracy to uproot paganism.” Other more bibliofacistic types will remind us that the Bible is the only reliable scientific and historical resource. Anything else is the invention of the devil. The whole thing is insane to me.

This is the darkest time of the year.

We forget the story. We forget the people gathered. We get so caught up in foolishness that we forget who we are. The Bible becomes a tool for forgetting rather than a tool for remembering. The Church becomes the Forgetful Ones when we are called to be the Ones Who Remember.

We are called to remember who we are.

We are called to remember who we are to emulate.

We are the hands and feet of Christ Jesus who is the incarnate God. Thus, we who are the Church, are the incarnate God. Everything else is dross.

I don’t know why this is bothering me so much this morning. We are about to head over to a new to us Church. We’re hoping to see some friends there. I need to take a shower. Apparently I woke up with a case of the grumpies.

A light shines in the darkness. We are that light.

Advent is a season of darkness. Christmas is the season of light. Wander in the darkness this month. Find yourself in it. Find yourself in the Christ story.

Wonder as you wander.

Y’all be excellent to each other.

The Rev. Tripp Hudgins is pastoral director of Richmond Hill Center, a religious community committed to praying and working for the racial healing of Richmond, Va. This post is republished with permission from his Substack blog, The Lo-Fi Gospel Minute. Subscribe.