Advent

Our church does annual Advent devotional books, where different people in the congregation sign up for a certain day and scripture and then write something about it. Someone compiles them all in a book and everyone gets one to take home and read and reflect on daily. The kids draw and submit artwork for the books, it's a whole family affair. People really put a lot of energy and effort into what they submit, and it's a thoughtful and intentional process.

So when Mrs. Becky announced in November that it was time to sign up for an advent devotional scripture if you were willing to write one, I signed us up. I chose a pretty simple scripture so we wouldn't be going over our heads:

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. Luke 2:8-9


I sat down with the boys and read the scripture to them, and then asked them some questions about what they thought it meant. I wrote as they talked, and our "devotional" turned out to be this:

Here is our family’s conversation about the scripture. It is imperfect and unedited, unexpected and different. May we continue to look at the story with fresh eyes each year. 

What do you think of this part of the story? 

The Boy (7)- An angel came and they didn’t know what an angel was or maybe they’d never seen an angel. 

BeYoYo (4)- Maybe they didn’t know what an angel was, because most people know what different things are, but God knows everything. Also, God is everything. 

The Boy- He’s everywhere. 

BeYoYo- And everything!

BeYoYo- Maybe it was somebody who was told angels weren’t real. They are real, aren’t they? 

The Boy- Did you know some angels are still alive?

BeYoYo- Yes, even the ones that are with Jesus. 

Why were the shepherds afraid? 

The Boy: I have no idea. 

BeYoYo: they just didn’t recognize the glory of the spirit! 

Do you remember what happens next in the story? 

The Boy: One angel told them there was a new baby that was being born and he was the son of God and stuff like that. 

BeYoYo: I’m happy when I hear about a new baby because I get to hold it and play with it. 

What did the shepherds do after they heard about the baby Jesus? 

The Boy: There was a giant, bright star that led them to him. And the angel said the baby is born in Bethlehem. Maybe they asked the angels to take care of the sheep while they went to see him. 

BeYoYo: Then God came holding Jesus in his hands, and the angels came and picked up Jesus and gave him to God. 

The Boy: No, the angels gave Jesus to Jospeh and Mary. 

BeYoYo: And they put him in where the animals used to eat out of. Then the shepherds came to see him. And they picked him up to hold him. 

Amen. 

It was nontraditional at best. I knew several people might turn a side eye about how unpolished it was. And maybe the theology was all wrong. And perhaps a little irreverent to think of the angels sheep sitting? But I resolved that we would submit it anyway, because there were people who thought the first Christmas was unpolished and its theology was all wrong too.

So I started an email to Mrs. Becky. I said here's the Magness family advent submission- it's really something. When I was typing, BeYoYo said he really wanted to write some words to "Mrs. Vecky" also, so I let him write some gibberish to her. He was proud. I thanked Becky for compiling the book this year, and I sent it off. I only half held my breath.

Then a few weeks ago, Becky announced the books were ready. Yay! I always look forward to getting the book, then I read 5 of the devotionals that day and promptly lose it for the rest of advent. It's a Christmas tradition. I flipped through it to see if one of my kids' art was accompanying our devotional. December 15th, 16th, 17, 18th, 19th, here we are, December 20th! But when I turned to that page, this was what I found:

I had not included the attachment. I thought I was nervous about our original compilation, but we submitted gibberish! And sweet Becky read my email saying "it's really something" and thought I was referring to what BeYoYo wrote. She was too polite to write to me and say "what the hell, Leigh Ellen?" Speaking of irreverent. TheANGELoftheLORD appeared and our response was a string of random numbers and letters. What's more: this gibberish was not so out of place as my family's submission that she was positive it wasn't what we intentionally sent. I could just imagine Becky shaking her head in confusion and saying "classic Magness".

I flipped through the rest of the book to make sure our actual devotion wasn't listed elsewhere. It wasn't. Then I laughed and laughed and laughed. We had just sent gibberish out. I texted Becky and told her I might not have been clear in my email to her, and I was so sorry, and that I was laughing. She said she'd looked and looked for an attachment and found nothing else. Good naturedly, she suggested we were just prepared early for next year.

OPC friends, if you open your devotional on December 20th and are confused, we were just preparing you to feel the way the Shepherds felt when the angels appeared to them. It was an immersive experience. #ClassicMagness