Advent Reflection on Life, Sorrow, & Loss

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Jay Blossom turns our frame of reference from feeling that grief conflicts with the joy of Christmas—to reminding us that the Advent was a time of mourning as well as joy—for Jesus was born into a sorrowful world.

Blossom says:

I suppose there is nothing inherently tragic about an elderly parent dying. My dad lived well and long, and burying parents is a principal duty of children in every culture and every age. And there’s certainly nothing exceptional about putting down a 17-year-old cat. But we feel the loss, especially at this time of year, even though the loss itself is natural and normal. We miss our dads and our pets. We grieve our childhood home, friends who have hurt us, people in authority who have let us down. And sometimes we weep over bigger, truly tragic events — a typhoon’s destruction, children murdered in their school, a society that seems off the rails.

But just as waiting is part of Advent, so is mourning a part of Christmas….

Read the entire article from On Being by clicking here.