Before yuh Parang de wrong house…wait nuh!

By Fr Robert Christo

Vicar for Communications

In the Caribbean, Christmas is different and it does not tiptoe in. It comes dancing in 100 days of paranging, smelling of ham, sorrel, and ponche-de-crème. But before all of that, our elders used to say: “Cool yuhself. Everything does have it time.”

That old Caribbean wisdom is exactly why the Church gives us Advent. Because if Christmas is going to be real, Advent must be essential.

When Christmas means little, Advent means nothing

For many people today, Christmas begins in July. Lights up by October. By November, we eating pastelle. By early December, some people already “fed-up of Christmas.”

And Christmas Day itself is an anti-climax. Everybody tired, overspent, overwhelmed. You cannot even participate actively, far more joyfully, in the Christ-Mass. But that is because, without Advent, we reach the feast without the hunger. We reach the glory without the longing.

The meaning of Christmas determines the necessity of Advent. If Christmas is only festivity, shopping, lights, fete, and noise, then Advent is non-essential. But if Christmas is truly the birth of God-made-flesh, God touching matter, God entering the soil of this world to save us, then Advent is not optional. It becomes sacred. As Romans 13:11 says, “The hour has come… our salvation is nearer.” Advent is the hour of waking up.

Three ‘comings,’ one season

Advent is not only a countdown to December 25. The Church, long before the 7th century when Advent became full liturgical practice, taught that Advent means ‘coming’ in three ways:

• Christ came visibly in Bethlehem
• Christ will come again at the end of time
• Christ comes now, hidden but real, in the sacraments, in prayer, in strangers, and in every moment of grace

So, Advent is not nostalgia. It is discipline—training to recognise Christ’s coming then, coming at the end, and coming in the in-between times now.

A Caribbean Advent: before the lights, fix the wiring

We grew up in homes where preparation was a serious thing—fruits soaking in grog from July, curtains tucked away for ‘big-people Christmas’, tar ham bubbling in the old pitch-oil oven for hours by the breadfruit tree and somebody painting the step red way past midnight on Christmas Eve, still sticky on Christmas morning. But hear the truth: all of that was meant to heighten Christmas, not replace it.

Sometimes, we prepare the house so hard that we forget to prepare the heart. And a house well ‘put way’, while sneaking to peep at the neighbour’s new curtains, with a heart untouched, is like a freshly painted wall covering mould. It might look real good, but it’s not healed. Advent is the season to scrub the soul.

• Scrub the dirt of ignorance with the detergent of knowledge
• Pull down the cobwebs of hate, pride, false pride, greed, and lust with the long broom of humility
• Sweep away the dust of lies with the broom of honesty
• Vacuum the corners of resentment with clear, straight thinking
• Power-wash the grime of selfishness with the water of mercy
• Paint the wall of your life not maroon or signal red, but with hope, prayer, church, and charity
• Hang new curtains of peace, forgiveness, and common sense

Only then will Christmas shine.

Christmas requires conversion

If Christmas is “peace on earth” (Lk 2:14), then Isaiah 2:4 is also true: nations must stop training for war. That means Advent must be a season of conversion. If Christ is truly our peace (Eph 2:14), then becoming authentic peacemakers (Mt 5:9) takes time and discipline. It takes Advent time. You cannot microwave holiness.

Do not start Christmas too early

Obey God in every detail. The Church gives us four precious weeks because the gift is great. Starting Christmas too early is like opening the oven before the black cake rise. You end up with a crack in the middle.

Advent reminds us how to wait:

A – Awaken to God’s voice

D – Deepen your longing

V – Vacuum out the clutter of sin

E – Enter into prayer and silence

N – Nurture acts of mercy

T – Trust that Christ is coming

Advent is necessary. Christmas is nothing less than the coming of an invisible God as human and Saviour. And if Christmas is that important, then Advent is God’s way of preparing our soil.

Wait. Watch. Scrub. Pray. Slow down.

And let the real Christmas find room in you. For once.