Human souls do not always anticipate God. This idea of Advent or anticipating what God might do is often foreign to us. A few actually run full tilt away from at least what they think God represents. But most of us who avoid God do so by simply being passive – passive, just like our first father, Adam. In the story of the first garden, in Eden, when the serpent was tricking Eve, where was Adam? He was right there. But he was passive, standing by while the dialogue of pain and separation from God was being woven. The serpent did not so much merely lie as much as he used truth to hide lying.

Maybe you’ve heard the line, “God is watching, so look busy!” Cute line, maybe, but it doesn’t actually work. This Advent, know that we have an alternative to being passive or keeping busy that actually works. It has to do with the object of our Advent, Christ coming into the world. For now, in Advent, maybe it’s enough to simply remember that being passive never was the right answer. Passivity ignores those around us who deserve our attention, it robs us of truly experiencing life, and deprives God of the fertile soil of our lives. It takes away or at least diminishes our capability to put our heart into life and love. It can even make us a sucker for hidden lies.