Gerry
"We wait with bated breath." As I sit here at my computer trying to come up with something clever, or thoughtful, or profound, or, at the least, worthy of your time to read these lines, that phrase came to me as I considered the fact that we're over halfway through Advent 2008.
Advent is a time of waiting; we all know that. But I began to wonder about that "bated breath" part. What does it really mean? Where does it come from? I wasn't even sure of the spelling but realized that spelling it b-a-i-t-e-d would only make us think of worm breath, rather than how to prepare for the Christ.
And so, without even moving from my desk chair, I did a little research on "bated breath" in an online dictionary. Indeed, I found out that my spelling instincts are correct and it is b-a-t-e-d. And then I learned that "to bate" means "to moderate, restrain." Bating one's breath, then, is breathing a bit more shallowly or with a more even pace in anticipation or hopes of what is to come.
What a perfect fit with Advent! We moderate not just our breath but our very being in anticipation of the One who is to come. We restrain the culture's attempts to get us to rush headlong into Christmas and instead savor the weeks that lead up to a God-with-us event. Our moderation stands against the excesses of the greed and materialism and consumerism that is all around us.
And so, with bated breath, we seek a star in the sky or strain to hear an angel's voice. With bated breath, we creep ever closer to a rough, straw-filled, impromptu crib to peek at a newborn baby. With bated breath, we look into the faces of everyone we encounter throughout our days and ask ourselves, "is this the Christ?"
Pace e bene,
Gerry
Advent is a time of waiting; we all know that. But I began to wonder about that "bated breath" part. What does it really mean? Where does it come from? I wasn't even sure of the spelling but realized that spelling it b-a-i-t-e-d would only make us think of worm breath, rather than how to prepare for the Christ.
And so, without even moving from my desk chair, I did a little research on "bated breath" in an online dictionary. Indeed, I found out that my spelling instincts are correct and it is b-a-t-e-d. And then I learned that "to bate" means "to moderate, restrain." Bating one's breath, then, is breathing a bit more shallowly or with a more even pace in anticipation or hopes of what is to come.
What a perfect fit with Advent! We moderate not just our breath but our very being in anticipation of the One who is to come. We restrain the culture's attempts to get us to rush headlong into Christmas and instead savor the weeks that lead up to a God-with-us event. Our moderation stands against the excesses of the greed and materialism and consumerism that is all around us.
And so, with bated breath, we seek a star in the sky or strain to hear an angel's voice. With bated breath, we creep ever closer to a rough, straw-filled, impromptu crib to peek at a newborn baby. With bated breath, we look into the faces of everyone we encounter throughout our days and ask ourselves, "is this the Christ?"
Pace e bene,
Gerry
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