Baxter makes a point of stretching after a long nap. He gets up and first curls his back with his legs pushed straight up. Then he steps out extending one back paw and then the other away from his body in a three legged stance. Lastly, he reaches his front paws in front of him and sticks his butt in the air and pushes against the floor. All of these maneuvers are to stretch his body back into alignment after a lengthy period of twisted relaxation.
Stretching is important for Baxter and for us. After Baster’s routine, I can see him come alive again. He’s alert and agile and ready for another meal. Doctors and exercise gurus tell us that stretching before and after vigorous exertion helps prevent injuries and keeps muscles limber. Stretching should begin the warm up and close the cool down to any extended exercise routine. It not only completes the toning of our muscles, but it also keeps the ligaments and tendons that tie them to our skeleton supple and strong. Physically, stretching helps to tie our body together well.
The same holds true for stretching our spirit. We need regularly to move our spirits in ways that extend their normal reach and direction. We all have our comfort zones where we can move through life almost asleep. We know what to say, how to respond, whom and what we like and dislike when we’re in these places. We are curled up, comfortable and content in this state, and we don’t usually appreciate anyone disturbing our positions. Let me be, and I won’t bother anyone. But left in this attitude for too long, our spirits grow soft and weak, and we are vulnerable to injuries we never saw coming.
Advent stretches our spirits as the Spirit of God stirs in our midst. We see this in Mary when the Spirit overshadows her and asks her to take on a role in salvation history she never foresaw. Her mind had to think outside the box about God’s ways with humankind. Her heart had to trust in the goodness and integrity of what she could not fully understand. She had to continue to care for others—her cousin, Elizabeth; her betrothed, Joseph—even while she was uncertain and confused about her own situation. Her spirit was stretched in mind, heart and action by what happened to her with the angel’s announcement, but because of this extension of her life into the very history of God’s life with us all, she “magnified the Lord” and “found joy in God,” her Savior. Because God stretched her life beyond the boundaries set by conventional religious wisdom and she followed the divine exercises well, Mary stands before us now as a great and strong example of faithful discipleship.
So don’t just jog through Advent to get to another Christmas. Do some stretching exercises with your thoughts about this season, with your attitude toward it, and with the kind of generosity you offer during it. Your faith will grow stronger for it.
