The marketing people have already found ways to squeeze the most revenue out of Holy Days such as Christmas and Easter. Now Advent calendars! I saw an interesting article in the Toronto Star a few weeks ago about Advent calendars for the December countdown: 24 days of tea from David's Tea, a Lego Star Wars calendar, and several others.

My favourite is the whisky advent calendar. Here's the description: "What better way to get ready for multiple familial engagements than by taking a daily shot of whisky? As you count down to Dec 25, you'll encounter a rare 50-year-old Scotch, an award-winning Japanese whisky and the World's Best Blended Whisky." Indeed! This calendar is yours for just $250. It seems that Advent has become more of a secular pursuit, aimed to increase the anticipation for an equally secular Christmas.

Welcome to Advent! A new liturgical year is upon us. As with each Advent, we hear the reminder on this Sunday to be on guard and alert. "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life. … Be alert at all times." The alertness that Jesus refers to is not related to the heightened security we experience throughout the world as we grow in fear of possible terrorist attacks, walking the streets with eyes wide open for anything or anyone suspicious. The alertness Jesus speaks of has nothing to do with unhealthy fear. Jesus says, "Stand up and raise your heads." That is hardly an image of cowering and hiding. It is pride.

However, scripture does encourage us to have a healthy fear of the Lord. Today's scripture includes Psalm 25, with its reminder that "the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him." Fear of the Lord is one of the seven traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit. It's the gift that helps us to be aware of the glory and majesty of God. Words such as wonder and awe help us comprehend what this gift offers us. A helpful analogy might be to think of what happens when we stand in the presence of someone we admire and respect. I spent several months in the early 1990s volunteering at Mother Teresa's home for the dying in India. The first time I met her I was trembling with nervousness. I had admired her for so long and I knew I was standing in the presence of someone often referred to as a living saint. I couldn't help but contrast this holy woman with my own smallness. It is natural for us to feel that way upon meeting our heroes. How much more should I tremble when I find myself in the presence of God's goodness. God is with me whenever I find myself encountering holiness.

Consider Moses before the burning bush in the Book of Genesis. He reverences himself because he knows that he is standing on holy ground. Our fear of the Lord is a profound respect for the majesty of God. Isn't that a great way to enter this season, as we prepare for the holy ground that is the manger in Bethlehem?