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Logos, the word for the "Word" in the first chapter of John's Gospel, means more than just "a collection of syllables representing a discreet unit of meaning." It means something more like "the teaching" or "the order of things, their logic." It means the whole of what Jesus is revealing; himself and the very order of the universe itself, its truth, its way, its end. The person of Jesus in John's Gospel is God and God's imprint in the created order and its end in fullness. "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life."
One of the promises of our faith is that Christ will come again. We reaffirm this every week in the creed. And while there are different ways of reading this, as any trip to a bookstore reminds us, I would warn against smugness and self-assurance. Jesus himself said that only the Father knew when the end would come. Yet, he also chastised his followers that they were unable to read the times. They had been with him for more than two years but did not understand him yet, so they could not understand the times. For followers of Jesus, when we see the ideal of God's intent and purpose in the person and teachings of Jesus, we can begin to our own times in contrast to that ideal.
If we cannot imagine a life where there is justice and peace, we cannot see the distance between what we have and the life that God intends for us. I think this is what the images of our Isaiah readings provide us with during these weeks of Advent. Images of a perfect world and a people at peace rejoicing in God's provision give us something to hold up against our world. When we see a world at peace, a just order to life, we see a gap between that reality and our world.
There is a similar gap between the life Jesus reveals in the Bible and my own life, as revealed by my Filofax. My personal planner reveals what really matters in my life. As I come to know Christ in Scripture, prayer, and community, my life is only partly shaped by him at first. I can see the gap by where I have spent my time.
Filofax was king when the personal organizer hit its stride in the 1980s. There had been diaries for ages, but the idea of small binders where their pages could be changed out to hold different small manuals goes back to a British military official who suggested that he bring them to the UK. The name Filofax came from a temporary secretary who shortened the phrase "file-of-facts." During WWII, Grace Scurr went on to save the company when a bomb destroyed their offices. She was determined to rebuild the company, and using her two Filofaxes that contained all of the customer and supplier contacts, she did just that and became CEO for over a decade.
Filofaxes went by the Latin name vidamecum, always with you, in the British military. They were standard issue for officers from the second World War on. They were popular with former military, businessmen, and the clergy. They produced specialized inserts for all of them. But the brand took off in the yuppie years, becoming an iconic part of Alex P. Keaton's wardrobe of the era.
I love Filofaxes. Next week I will tell you about how I started my Rule of Life in a Franklin Planner, the consummate American planner. Still, I discovered the British version while researching how parish priests historically organized their ministry lives. In an article online, I found a vintage ad depicting a priest with an organizer under his arm where you would expect to see a Prayer Book.
There is something about this time of year and getting organized. Perhaps it's the turning of the year and all the parties, stewardship calls, and services, but late fall feels like the time to get it all straightened out on paper. I suspect it is the illusion of control that I want.
Advent seems to have a life of its own as we get swept up in the business of the season. Our calendars fill up fast. Advent, though, is not the activities and the plans that overflow the pages. If anything, it is about their disruption, their cosmic contingency. Advent is about the promise that all of this will be lifted up to a better reality, a promise that a day of peace and justice is coming. A day that we have glimpsed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
My Filofax gives me a good place to measure my priorities against the image of Jesus. What do I do with my time? Am I living by God's logic and Jesus' teaching? Am I living the Word made flesh?
No one is perfect, of course, but my weekly and monthly calendar shows me how I am doing in embodying God's purpose in my life. The life that fills our planner pages is the only one we get here. Live according to his logic, the Word made flesh, so those pages count.
Advent blessings. I will see you along the Way.
Click here to download the 2022 - 2023 Diocesan Cycle of Prayer.
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