By: Rev. David Wilson Rogers
The rush is on. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, Christmas Day is ahead of us, and here we are—like so many Decembers—rushing to make sure everything gets done. The pressure is on. There are gifts to purchase, travel to arrange, treats to bake, decorations to display and social gatherings fighting to squeeze into our harried calendars—not to mention final exams! It is truly a rush-rush time of the year. It is times like this that many in the church can benefit from the annual observance of something other than the Christmas rush. It is Advent and this weekend marks its first Sunday.
Advent is an observance in many churches that marks the four weeks prior to Christmas. It is, in fact, one of the oldest annual observances in Christian worship. The origins of this season date back at least as far as the fifth century.
In churches that celebrate Advent, a common symbol is a special wreath or candles symbolizing the church’s anticipation of the pending birth. Every Sunday an additional candle is lit, one for each of the four Sundays of the season, culminating with the glorious celebration of the birth on Christmas! It is a time of prayerful waiting, longing, anticipating, and preparing for something special that is yet to come. The season is not about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, singing traditional Christmas carols, or exchanging gifts. Even the name “advent” calls to mind this idea. It comes from the Latin word for “to come to.” It literally is a season to bring us to Christmas.
The season of Advent looks toward two particular realities in the Christian faith. First, it prepares for the annual celebration of the most significant birth to ever take place in human history. Much like a family preparing to welcome a newborn into the household, Advent preparations seek to prepare our hearts to receive Christ anew in our lives.
The second faithful anticipation highlighted in Advent is the promised second coming of Jesus in full glory. Much of the seasonal worship looks beyond this present age to the glorious time of Christ’s full and eternal reign on earth.
In many ways, modern culture tends to rush—or at least reinterpret—the significance of Advent. Due in large part to the secularization of the season, Christmas is rapidly becoming a two-month retail and entertainment event that begins after Halloween and ends after the New Year. Part of the problem of rushing Christmas is that by the time December 25th rolls around, many people are stressed out, frustrated, discouragingly ready for the season to be over.
(Ironically, in the ancient traditions of the Church, December 25th is only when Christmas begins. Technically speaking, Christmas in the ancient Christian calendar lasts twelve days—from December 25th to January 6th. Believe it or not, the Twelve Days of Christmas are a lot more than a popularly annoying song.)
Advent does not suggest that we should ignore Christmas or avoid the secular trappings of the season. Yet it does call Christians to take a faithful pause and reclaim the significance of what it means to welcome the Christ Child into the world. It calls us to prepare our hearts and minds with the same focus with which we shop, decorate, bake, and entertain. It means that we are focused on the true reason for the season and prepare for Christ’s triumphant return in full glory. It is a season of anticipation and preparation. Pause, pray, and wait. God is good!
