How about a little Old Bay on your Advent

I like Old Bay on my Old Bay.

It’s good on a tuna sandwich—especially a tuna melt—and corn on the cob. I happily use it on any kind of seafood, and it dazzles on French fries. I have one dip recipe that my nieces and nephews devour that relies heavily on Old Bay. You can sprinkle it on chicken and scrambled eggs and so much else.

This year, Old Bay is even good for Advent.

Just days ago, McCormick announced that they would start selling Old Bay in tin containers again. For years, Old Bay has been sold in plastic. But McCormick is taking Old Bay back to its vintage look and feel.

In an era where we’re not producing the penny anymore, returning Old Bay to its original metal canister somehow feels reassuring. As time hurtles on, we leave the past behind. But we don’t mind taking a little bit of that past with us as we fly into the future.

During our Advent journey, as we speed toward Christmas, I can’t help but appreciate how Old Bay is taking a step back to take a step forward.

After all, there’s so much about this time in the liturgical year that invites us to look back into the past as we await the future. We look to the prophets of long ago to try to understand what is to come. What were they encouraging us to do? How did they envision God coming into the world? What insights could they offer that would help us see the Christ Child for who he would be—a baby born in a manger in a stable in Bethlehem?

The past can help you understand the future. And even as we move closer to Christmas, following a star, journeying with Mary and Joseph, and seeking Baby Jesus, we can never lose sight of where we’ve come from.

Those beginnings, those earlier writings prepare us for what we are about to discover. The old is new.

We see that every year as we prepare for Christmas, taking on old customs—like lighting the Advent wreath and setting up a Nativity scene. Like with any tradition, the blend of old and new is part of what we cherish about this time. We hang Grandma’s ornament next to one our child made back in preschool. We are surrounded by new and old, as the old becomes new, and the new prompts us to reflect differently on the past.

How many times have we have walked through Advent and celebrated Christmas. Still, every year it brings back memories of the past, while also being entirely new. That’s true in our faith journey every Advent. We journey toward the manger, knowing Christ will be born for us again in a brand-new way.

“The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed,” St. Augustine said.

Here we are, journeying toward Bethlehem, preparing ourselves for one of the oldest, greatest stories ever told. May we receive it with new eyes and a renewed love and desire to be close to Jesus.

And maybe we’ll find some Old Bay under the tree.

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