OYAYA Advent! Let the journey begin

	Tom Rinkoski

Advent is a journey taken in the light of the story of Christmas. When I was growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the annual Christmas pilgrimages was to Aunt Edie and Uncle John's house. They lived just far enough across town for 10 or 12 backseat choruses of "Are we there yet?"

The road trip, though short, was colored by anticipation of an evening with the relatives. Worries and joys colored the coming gathering: What sweets would they serve? Would I have to kiss Aunt Kathryn again? This time I am definitely going downstairs to watch the Christmas poker game!

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The story of Christmas precedes us. We've read it before. We've heard it retold grinched and green, pinched and mean, and poetic and clean. Most of us have been raised in that story. Advent comes around each year as a time to test that story with our own experience; to read it in our lives and try once again to make it our own.

Think of John the Baptist as an ob-gyn who wants to measure your contractions. What are you giving birth to? Advent is not so much about what presents you are buying as the quality of your Christmas presence according to the standards of the newly revised Uncle Scrooge. Advent is a road trip for your soul.

Unfortunately, Advent too often feels like a journey endured in coach class on a no-frills flight. You are sitting elbow-to-elbow next to several someones whom you don't know. A baby is crying and you haven't begun to taxi the runway. The stewardess of Christmas past is saying something you think is important, but you can't quite understand. You wonder about the spiritual implications of learning that the emergency door weighs approximately 31 pounds. I assure you that the secret to a meaningful Christmas is not in the tiny package of pretzels you were given.

I read about Brent Curry, who wanted to do some traveling and sight-seeing on Canada's Prince Edward Island. Maybe that is a great place for Advent meditation and reflection. To make this a memorable trip he took a 95-pound faux leather sofa, attached two drive trains with pedals and was off! Can you even picture what this might look like? Here is a work of Advent imagination!

I imagine his couchbike was something to behold! It was nearly seven-feet across (wider than a Lincoln Navigator!) The story (at www.bikeforest.com) says they once attained a dizzying downhill speed of just over 27 miles per hour! Let Advent break up your predictable patterns of getting from here to there! Yes, this may result in additional insecurity. Changes can be quite uncomfortable, but Christmas is about big changes - really big changes!

The door to your Advent Adventure is slightly ajar; many times you will pass it by without even a glance. You can take a peek and not enter. Like a daring 7-year-old you can step in and rush out. Whether drawn by curiosity, boredom, rebellion or circumstance, enter the doorway! Wander/Wonder around in there long enough to get lost.

Here is a simple Advent exercise to get you in shape for a colorful and fun Advent adventure. Consider me your personal Advent Occupational Therapist. In exchange for this service you will not receive the usual and customary Explanation of Benefits statement. Instead, you will feel the benefits. Right now, say as loud as you can, "OYAYA Advent!" Repeat. Oh! Come on! It's not really that impossible! It really doesn't mean anything, but it is a great enthusiasm exercise! When someone comes and inquires what you are doing, tell them: "I am reciting the ancient and sacred mantra of the Advent spirits." Try this same phrase out for a meal blessing. It sounds wonderful when sung in different parts.

Traveling together on the Advent journey is always much more fun than traveling alone. Pronounce it over your children as you send them off to school with your hands extended in blessing. Grandparents, write it in a letter to your babies. Better yet, make a CD of you chanting it and mail it to them.

On Dec. 6, the feast of the great and honorable St. Nicholas, chant this phrase in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.

Wont'cha be my road buddy for an Advent Adventure? OYAYA Advent!

(Rinkoski is parish Director of Religious Education at St. Augustine Church and Student Center in Gainesville, Fla. His e-mail address is tomrinkoski@yahoo.com.)