If that sounds rather foolish and bleak, consider the following advice by Bruce Lee: “Empty your cup so it may be filled.”
If our heads are full of what we think God is supposed to look like and act like, we risk missing the Messiah in our midst. Even John the Baptist had his doubts about whether Jesus was “the One who is to come”; he apparently expected a more triumphant, king-like figure, along the lines of King David. Yet if we acknowledge that God is uncontainable, should we be surprised at his choice to be born of a young Jewish maiden from the backwater of Nazareth and to spend his time healing and teaching rather than smiting others and residing in a castle?
If our hearts are full of our own dreams and desires, we risk missing the invitation to bring Christ to birth through service to others who need us in unexpected ways. Mary of Nazareth had questions about how she, a virgin, could conceive and bear God’s son, but she entrusted her heart to her God and became the mother of Jesus, God with us.
Let us put on the mind and heart of Advent—open, receptive, and empty of preconceived notions about God’s intentions and how our lives should unfold. Then our head and our heart will be prepared to recognize and receive God in ways beyond our imagining.
Lovely, Jennifer
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