Who wrote one of the most widely read Christian books in the first half of the twentieth century? Some suggest the answer is Evelyn Underhill, who wrote a book entitled “Mysticism.” Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941) lived in England, and studied history and botany in school. In 1907, she converted to Christianity, and four years later completed her book on mysticism. Within a few years, she was a widely sought-out lecturer and teacher, especially on matters related to the spiritual life. She used to say, “It is those who have a deep and real inner life who are best able to deal with the irritating details of outer life.”
Underhill is remembered as a woman with a lively personality and a caring concern for others. She would spend her mornings writing and then use her afternoons to visit the poor and offer spiritual direction. She was fond of quoting St. Teresa of Avila, who had said “to give Our Lord a perfect service Martha and Mary must combine.” (Read Luke 10:38-42) One scholar noted that she had a love of souls coupled with the determination to help them to grow at God’s pace and not at their own or her own–a trait that won her the love and trust of all who went to her for guidance.
I mention Evelyn Underhill because I recently ran across a charming quote of hers. In her volume of published letters, she wrote to a friend these words: “I do hope your Christmas has had a little touch of Eternity in among the rush and pitter patter and all. It always seems such a mixture of this world and the next–but that after all is the idea!” As I think about the Advent and Christmas seasons now upon us, I know Ms. Underhill is exactly right. This time of year is meant to be a mixture of “this world and the next.”
The language of Advent is saturated with images of “incarnation”: God becoming flesh in the infant Christ child; people sharing gifts in the spirit of the season; Christmas as a time of good deeds done for others. But what exactly is being “incarnated”? In a real way, it is something more than a moral idea to be nice to others or a vague spirit of goodwill that prompts acts of kindness. It is what Underhill has said it is–a mixture of this world and the next; a little touch of Eternity in the here and now.
We should not dismiss this idea as mere poetic language. The nature of an incarnate God means that God’s eternal realm also is mixed up in this temporal realm. It means that we can glimpse eternity even though we live in the present age. Skeptical psychologists may tell us that we do good deeds for Christmas just because it makes us feel good. Critical biologists may argue that altruistic behavior is simply another desirable trait in the evolutionary equation of “survival of the fittest.” But Christian faith insists that just as God dwelt in Christ, the eternal is incarnate in us through God’s loving, redeeming grace.
We are “mixed up” people–flesh and spirit, a little lower than angels, children of God. Pay close attention to what you see and feel and experience this Advent and Christmas season. Eternity has never been closer at hand!