Advent and other Angels
Steiner schools have an 'Advent Angel' tradition, each week during Advent pupils give a present anonymously to their classmates. It may be a little more inclusive than 'Secret Santas', and shows the Steiner commitment to seasons and festivals as reminders of spirituality. Advent is not the 'Big Bang' of Christmas, as James Hanvey of Heythrop College writes in the Tablet:
'A reflective stillness lies at the centre of Advent ... Quietly, but insistently, it awakens our hope and invites us to wait upon the Lord who will fulfil his promise ... Christ is the centre of our existence; he is the one who establishes our perspective. For this reason, the Christian way of seeing things is distinctive. To those who do not share this perspective, it will appear strange. Hence the problem and the puzzle that Christianity poses for a secular culture ... Where a post-Christian society has forgotten how to read the substance of Christian faith, there can be a genuine ignorance but also a cultivated misunderstanding among those who presume to know Christianity already ... The Church wants humanity to succeed, not fail ... It does not have any ambition to take away the legitimate independence of the secular but it does have a vision of what that might be.'
Yet, 'religion in general, but the Church in particular [and Islam more so?], comes to stand for all the deepest fears and demons of a liberal secularism ... It would be foolish to deny that religion has its exotic, bizarre, grotesque and corrupt elements. But even a superficial glance at the state of our world gives enough evidence that these traits are not the monopoly of religion ... Advent calls us to consider not only that God is, but who God is. It does not present a puzzle but a mystery ... We expect a great theophany (revealing of God) but all we have is an obscure stable ... We can no longer deny God without in some way denying ourselves.'
These Christian thoughts, are not a million miles away from other religious traditions, many have times or practices of reflection. In particular, the Hajj is now complete, millions of Muslim pilgrims have performed rituals of prayer, reflection and repentance as they re-enact the journey of faith of Abraham and his family, with accompanying angels. There are intriguing Christian-Muslim commonalities, not part of the Hajj but coming to mind at Advent, Muslim veneration of the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist as a prophetic figure and expectation of the return of Christ, though our hopes diverge widely!
The Hajj culminates today in Eid ul-Adha, the festival of joyful sacrifice, with many exchanges of Eid presents and food. Closeness in the calendar gives us opportunities to celebrate with and welcome each other, and learn about what makes each other tick and await the New Year. This is one of the reasons why we released our statement on religious festivals and there seem to be fewer stories about Christmas 'being banned' these days.
The Christian Muslim Forum would like to wish all its friends, supporters and everyone a blessed Advent, Eid Mubarak and a Merry Christmas, as well as Happy Hanukkah to Jewish friends.
For more about Advent, visit the Church of England's Advent website and see the Archbishop's video.
We also celebrate the award of an honorary doctorate to our colleague Dr Ataullah Siddiqui
Julian Bond
