Daily Advent Devotion for December 11th - Jill Pope
















Advent and Tradition?
By Jill Pope




"Now let me get this straight, you put a tree in your living room?” My husband had a friend named Dean who was raised in a Jewish family. He married a woman raised by a father who was a Church of Christ minister. They were an interesting couple in many ways, but shortly after they were married Dean called and said, “Lisa (his new wife) wants to put a Christmas tree in the living room! Now let me get this straight, you put a Tree…in your House?! Why do you do that?” He was joking, sort of, but it does show us how deeply ingrained our traditions among family and Christians become. They have become our habits that we do not question. 

When I was asked to write a devotion for Advent and then was told that the theme was “family tree,” I thought of this story almost immediately. But it also made me question how to pair the new beginnings of Advent with tradition and family. We cherish the comfort of our family traditions, looking forward to all the things that we only do once a year, and yet we cherish them because we have always done them.

As we walk through the Advent season this year, let us reflect on the mission of Jesus who honored tradition and family in many ways while shaking it to its very foundation (Matthew 10:34-39). Let us remember that each Advent we should build our traditions of family and faith on the solid rock that is the coming of Christ. As our family tree grows and new members are added and others are remembered, let our faith grow to touch the lives of those in our family, our church family, and our community while breaking the habits that keep us from growing in faith.

Dean passed away two years ago from a very aggressive form of brain cancer. During his very short marriage, he not only learned to put up a Christmas tree in his living room that first year but as he went through his battle with cancer he also decided to be baptized by his wife’s minister. Here is to a year of family and tradition but also a year of new growth in Christ. Mazel tov! (from modern Hebrew mazzāl ṭōḇ, literally ‘good star.’)




Comments