Introducing Advent
The New Year is upon us! Well, New Year according to the Church Calendar that is. Each year, we at the Mission Cincinnati journey with other Christians throughout time and space alongside the Ancient people of Israel as they waited for their Messiah; with Jesus through His life, death, and resurrection, and then with the Church throughout history as every generation has waited for Christ to come back and make all things New. This journey of pressing into the hope of Christ’s coming—both Israel’s waiting for Christ to come the first time, and the church’s waiting for Christ to come again—is a season Christians have come to call Advent. This year, Advent, begins on November 27th and lasts up until December 25th, Christmas Day.
While the culture around us often starts celebrating Christmas shortly after Thanksgiving (or even Halloween!), we in the Church wait. The Season of Advent invites us into this waiting. This is good and purposeful, because before we can properly celebrate the good News of Jesus’ birth, we must take time to walk in the shoes of the ancient Israelites living under oppression and in exile, remembering their longing for a savior.
We also need to get in touch with our own longings for deliverance from the many kinds of current-day oppressions we and our world face. Our world is broken, we are broken, and we cannot deliver ourselves from this brokenness and sin. There is One, however, who can: Jesus. Thus, throughout the season of Advent, we are invited to bring all our laments, our sorrows, our longings, our fears, and even our repentance to the Lord. Purple, the liturgical color of penitence, that will adorn our Communion Table throughout the season, will remind us of all this. So will the placement of The Confession at the beginning of our service, a tradition we practice in both Advent and Lent known as the Penitential Order.
This is not to be a mournful season, however, but one of great hope. As we journey through Advent, the Scriptures appointed for this season will remind us that our Lord is our Emmanuel, our “God with us.” We do not need to carry our burdens alone. We journey with One who is with us, who deeply loves us, and who has shown Himself again and again to be One who delivers His people.
The Advent Scriptures will also remind us that just as Jesus came once, He will come again, and when He does come, He will wipe away all tears, remove all our fears, and invite us into a life of abundance, meaning, freedom, and peace. This is because Advent is not just a time of waiting to celebrate Jesus’ birth; it is also a time of anticipating Jesus’ Second Coming, and the Advent wreath we light each week will be a reminder to us of both realities. The progressive lighting of the candles each week will symbolize how a Great Light has dawned in the land of darkness (Isaiah 9), and how one day, that Light will once and for all disperse all darkness.
Therefore, friends, I invite you to enter deeply into this season of waiting and anticipation this year. Let this season be a time of sorrow and joy, and lament and celebration. Let it be a time of hope, peace, wonder, and growing faith as you wait to celebrate Jesus’ birth and wait for His Second Coming. And put your trust in the One who will one day make all things right.
If you are new to the Season of Advent or just unsure of how to engage this season this year, be sure to check out the Advent guide I have created for you. In it, there are descriptions of many Advent traditions both for the Church and individuals. Plus, there are devotionals and activities for both adults and families.
May you truly have a Blessed Advent.
Rev. Kristen Yates