Small Rituals of Recovery and Renewal
A common theme that I find in some of today’s readings (Psalms 40, 54 and 51; Zech. 8:8) is a desire to begin anew. These readings are about asking God to provide us with “a new song,” create in us “a clean heart,” and to “restore joy” in all of us. We even learn about God’s own plan to bring new life to Jerusalem, that “faithful city” where people of all ages would gather together in the streets recognizing one another and playing without fear.
I find these examples of new beginnings truly appropriate for Advent. Even though we all have been through Advent before, in today’s readings we understand just how much we have yet to learn by seeing this season anew. That is, this waiting period can be both a recovery of things past and a renewal of us as people of God.
At home, I experience recovery and renewal through a small ritual that my daughter Lucinda started some time ago. Every night as Luci is about to fall asleep, she asks me to tell her a story of when I was a little kid. Her request comes with the proper instructions, of course. For my story to really, really count, I must tell a true story beginning with a “once upon a time,” mention how old I was when the story took place, present a problem, and then fix the problem in the end. At first, I had to restart my story a few times because I couldn’t keep up with all the rules! Now, I know better to listen carefully to Luci’s instructions and to tell my stories the “right” way. Luci has listened to many stories of me growing up in Mexico, such as the time when I was about 7 years old and fell asleep on a horse going down a steep mountain on a very scary and stormy night. I had to be tied to the adult rider so that I wouldn’t fall off the horse! In retelling stories of my childhood, I get to revisit past memories and turn them into something new in a different language and cultural context. Our small ritual helps connect Luci to the many friends and relatives she has yet to meet. In narrating and listening to old stories we are re-membering, bringing people and places closer together across generations and nations.
Through this and other kinds of small rituals of recovery and renewal, we all can be thankful for who we are, for the people in our lives, for the journey that has brought us here. Advent is a time for waiting and for re-membering the people of God. It brings us closer together.
(Esteban Loustaunau)
Art work: Peter Michel, “Coming Together” http://gg.tigweb.org/PeterMichel/34833/
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