We don’t need to write to you about the timing and dates, brothers and sisters. You know very well that the day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. When they are saying, “There is peace and security,” at that time sudden destruction will attack them, like labor pains start with a pregnant woman, and they definitely won’t escape. But you aren’t in darkness, brothers and sisters, so the day won’t catch you by surprise like a thief. – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 (CEB)
We are trying to decide where to put our Christmas tree this year. We are not early decorators, so we are only this coming weekend getting to where we decorate the house. So far we have not even decided where the tree should go. This is our fifth Christmas in this house, and each year the tree has gone in a different place. Much of that has to do with changes in the organization of some of the rooms. Another factor is the growing interest of growing cats in the ornaments that go on the tree. For this year we need to decide between one of the places that we have used before that worked well, a new place that we’ve discussed using in previous years, or a place relatively protected from having a cat climb up the middle. No decision has been made yet.
There’s great value in having a set tradition and knowing what to do. It lessens the stress of decision fatigue. You simply follow what’s always been done. On the other hand, that also means dealing with the same limitations each year (is there comfortable seating around the tree, will the cats pull everything down). Trying somewhere new each year brings excitement and creativity – how will we make it work out? However, it also leaves decisions hanging until the last minute. I’m not particularly attached to one method or the other. After all, part of the point of the decorations and Christmas morning family festivities is the surprise factor. What might be under the tree? Why not add in, “I wonder where the tree will be?” as another surprise? The balancing of predictability and surprise is a key part of making traditions become a vibrant joy rather than a rule-bound routine.
What spaces do you have for surprise this year during the holidays? Which parts of the predictable patterns do you hold dear? Even more than just thinking about the holidays, though, how do you balance the two in your life of faith? I often say that my goal in worship is to do something surprising each week. The implied point is that most of worship is predictable, while there also being a value in something unexpected happening. That helps prepare us to receive the unpredictable ways that God comes to us in our day-to-day life. God shows up again and again, if we but have the eyes to recognize it. This is true with Christmas and the celebration on the incarnation – of God being with us in this world. Even more it is true of each moment and the ongoing reality of the incarnation – of God being with us each moment of each day. Routines help us be ready to recognize God in the ordinary, while being open to surprises allows us to take part in the ways that God goes against what is expected. Both are needed for our faith to remain vibrant and prepared for the regular appearance of Emmanuel, God with us.