Use it well.

I know I’m preaching to the choir. But I’ll do it anyway. And for those of you not in the choir, or not even in the church – listen up.

Because what I’m saying is important.

The choir in this case are those Christians in traditions that think about the preparation for Christmas that we call Advent. Think Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Anglicans and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Advent means “coming” and it’s the roughly one month period before Christmas that we’re given to prepare our hearts for the first coming of Christ. In those traditions where Advent is celebrated, the scripture readings, hymns, and prayers focus on spiritual and mental preparation for the Christ – a microcosm of the 4,000 years of preparation God gave to his people in the Old Testament before the first coming of Christ. (In the springtime, there’s a similar preparation time before Easter, that being Lent. Advent and Lent are related on some levels and not on others, but we’ll deal with Lent in a few months).

Here’s your assignment. If you’re a regular at a church where Advent is noticed, recognized, and used, make use of it yourself. If you’re in a church that does not formally make use of Advent, the journey will be a bit harder (travel by ourselves is always more difficult) but you can still make use of the coming weeks to prepare.

Traditionally, Christians have fasted at various times during Advent, but this is not about going without food, except as a side effect. No, the Bible is quite clear: by itself, going without food does nothing whatsoever to bring you closer to God. What fasting can do is give us time to cultivate our spiritual lives: more time to read the scriptures, more time to pray, more time to be in worship services.

Because we spend a lot of time on food. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Food is important. Food is sustenance, food is fellowship time with those we love, and food can be enjoyable.

But food cannot be a god. And fasting reminds us of that. Adam fell into sin in the garden by means of food. And since then, we have become addicted to the idea that our lives depend on food.

And in one sense, our lives depend on food. And that’s ok. We are physical beings, created beings, and part of our sharing the creation involves eating from that creation.

But in the most profound way, our lives do not depend on food. Jesus (Matthew 4.4, echoing Deuteronomy 8.3) reminds us that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from God’s mouth.

And food takes a lot of time. Those who cook are most aware of this but there’s shopping and planning and a whole lot more. Seasons such as Advent give us time to back away from that, if only for a bit.

This is not a law. Rather consider it an opportunity. The point is to give ourselves time to prepare for Christmas. Fasting – whether that fasting is from food, social media, TV, or something else – frees up some time. And in that time, you might want to read your Bible more. Reading one of the four gospels (the longest is Matthew, at 28 chapters, the shortest Mark at 16) might be something you’d want to do. Most people can easily read a chapter in around five minutes. Or maybe there’s a book you’ve been wanting to read. Perhaps more time praying.

Only you know your situation. Do what you are able, and don’t drive yourself crazy. But you have been given a gift. Gratefully accept that gift, and make us of it to prepare for Christ’s coming to us on Christmas.