ADVENT, “BRILLO PADS AND CHRISTMAS”

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.(Psalm 32:5)

On November 15th we began the period of Adventand the preparation for the birth or Nativity of Christ. Folded into this Lenten Season are all the decorating, wrapping, shopping, parties and baking. Have you ever held a baking pan over the sink with all that burnt on egg glazing and sesame seeds from those Koulourakia? What were your thoughts? Never mind, I don’t want to go there, because I know what I thought. I’ve scrubbed, chipped and scraped, with the best of them, using a Brillo pad, or anything else found under the sink, thinking that the egg was put there with cement. After a seeming eternity, the pan was clean and shinning once again. My fingers were raw and my arms ached. I put the pan away, not wanting to see it again until Pascha!

Over time, I have built up layers of living. I have lived through tragedies, heartaches, disappointments and failures. I’ve accumulated layers of grime, of cynicism and apathy that cover my life. Through moments of forgiveness and renewal, I try to chip away at the accumulation, but it doesn’t really scour my heart, mind and soul completely clean. I feel the left over layers of grime.

There are times when I’m thrust into situations where I reflect on my life and see the extent of the grime. I see how many layers I have allowed to build up in the rush of normal day-to-day living. When I look at the real me in the mirror, what I see isn’t as shiny as I thought.

I need a Brillo pad experience. That Brillo pad experience is what the Church calls Confession. I need God to cleanse me. I need this cleansing to put me back into the right condition for better living in the future (well at least until Pascha). It’s painful. It’s difficult! But, we all need this from time to time. Can you imagine if we weren’t cleansed? What a sorry condition our hearts, minds and souls would be in! Christ is an expert in that arena. He uses our severe testing times to recondition and refit our lives for a better tomorrow. It is that great blessing we receive in that Brillo moment.

I pray this Christmas and Advent Season that the Lord examines us and shows us where we have created distance from Him; and like the Wise Men we go to Him so that the Lord might cleanse us of those things that displease Him. So we might greet that Child in the manger with open and clean hearts to do His will... Have a Blessed Christmas!

+Fr Chris