On the 3rd Day of Advent – the Visuals (12/02/2025)

Would a burglar entering my home know I am a Christian? Is there anything in my home that signals my spiritual identity, my spiritual beliefs, my spiritual practices?

Visual symbols play an important part in our journeys. They not only remind us of who we are, but they can unite us around what we share. They speak to us in shorthand; we get it with a glimpse.

I am wearing a wedding ring. It is for me to remember, to live according to my promise. It is for others to tell them who I am, a married woman. Daily, as I put it on my finger, I think of not only my husband and our promises to one another but of where the journey has taken us. It amazes me how such a small symbol can conjure up so much history and strengthen my conviction as I step into the future.

Daily, I pass the crucifix in my home and remember that I am His, beloved of Christ. I brush it with my hand and promise to try to live as He calls me to live, to remain in Him as He has promised to remain in me. It isn’t a decoration; it is visual key that opens a deep part of my being, exposing me to the LORD’s love and allowing the LORD’s love to transform me.

Advent is a time of preparation and anticipation, a time of hope. What symbols, what visuals of our hope and of our current focus and journey are visual? An advent wreath? A nativity set? A Christmas tree? An Advent calendar?

More isn’t always better, but none definitely isn’t the best! We humans respond to the visuals in our lives. We tend to let others know about our values with simple visuals like bumper stickers and fan shirts. Advent deserves notice. It calls us to anticipate. Our visuals remind us of the reason for the season, they call us to stay the course, they remind us of the value of what we are anticipating, and we Christians know the gift of Jesus at Christmas appears among the short list of the greatest gifts in history.

My family has a tradition that involves visuals. When we set up for Advent and Christmas, we take the baby Jesus out of the nativity sets. And we wait in joyful anticipation. Everytime one of us walks past any nativity set, we know Jesus already came, but we know there is also a “not yet.”  On Christmas, before we begin our festivities, we begin with the nativity story. The children help me tell it. And then we walk around and from the pockets of my apron, I pull out the baby Jesuses, and one of my grandchildren places it in the appropriate nativity set.

As we wait in hope, may we be reminded by the visuals of what has been and anticipate what will be all because of a LORD who is love itself.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.