ertrud Mueller-Nelson writes in To Dance with God about the approach of Christmas:Sentimentality is the emotion we feel when we scoop off a part of the truth, that part which we are willing to accept, and slather it like syrup to cover what we do not want to see. Usually what we don't want to see is our responsibility to the remaining truth. A half-truth is a very dangerous thing, because it is a lie.
This year as I am moving through the Advent darkness towards the light of Christ at Christmas, two truths have broken through: this really is a time to get rid of the bullshit and concentrate only on that which is true and life-giving; and, no matter how hard I try it is always a struggle. Nothing profound, I know, nothing you aren't all wrestling with, too. But I suspect this truth needs to be said out loud over and over and over again so that we give ourselves permission to let go of the crap and claim the time, space and strength to hold on to what endures.
Allison Krauss and Robert Plant make the sound of Advent to me on this version of Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose." No sentimentality here, just the moan of longing and a trampled rose in the street. Thanks be to God!
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