Advent

The Season of Advent
Anticipation and Hope
Dennis Bratcher
The Colors of Advent The Spirit of Advent Evergreens and The Advent Wreath Celebrating Advent An Advent Reflection
Advent is the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). If Christmas Eve is a Sunday, it is counted as the fourth Sunday of Advent, with Christmas Eve proper beginning at sundown.
The Colors of AdventHistorically, the primary sanctuary color of Advent is Purple. This is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King. Purple is still used in Catholic churches. The purple of Advent is also the color of suffering used during Lent and Holy Week. This points to an important connection between Jesus Christ's birth and death. The nativity, the Incarnation, cannot be separated from the crucifixion. The purpose of Jesus¢ coming into the world, of the "Word made flesh" and dwelling among us, is to reveal God and His grace to the world through Jesus¢ life and teaching, but also through his
suffering, death, and resurrection. To reflect this emphasis, originally Advent was a time of penitence and fasting, much as the Season of Lent and so shared the color of Lent.
In the four weeks of Advent the third Sunday came to be a time of rejoicing that the fasting was almost over (in some traditions it is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for "rejoice"). The shift from the purple of the Season to pink or rose for the third Sunday Advent
candles reflected this lessening emphasis on penitence as attention turned more to celebration of the season.
In recent times, however, Advent has undergone a shift in emphasis, reflected in a change of colors used in many churches. Except in the Eastern churches, the penitential aspect of the Season has been almost totally replaced by an emphasis on hope and anticipation.
In many churches the third Sunday remains the Sunday of Joy marked by pink or rose. However, most Protestant churches now use blue to distinguish the Season of Advent from Lent. Royal Blue is sometimes used as a symbol of royalty. Some churches use Bright Blue to symbolize the night sky, the anticipation of the impending announcement of the King¢s
coming, or to symbolize the waters of Genesis 1, the beginning of a new creation. Some churches, including some Catholic churches, use blue violet to preserve the traditional use of purple while providing a visual distinction between the purple or red violet of Lent.
With the shift to blue for Advent in most non-Catholic churches, there
is also a tendency to move pink to the Fourth Sunday of Advent. It
still remains associated with Joy, but is increasingly used as the climax
of the Advent Season on the last Sunday before Christmas.
Red and Green are more secular colors of Christmas. Although they
derive from older European practices of using evergreens and holly to
symbolize ongoing life and hope that Christ¢s birth brings into a cold world,
they are not used as liturgical colors during Advent since they have
other uses in other parts of the church year (see Colors of the Church
Year).
The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year
old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.
That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life.
In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live
"between the times" and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God¢s people. So, as the church celebrates God's inbreaking into history in the Incarnation, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which "all creation is groaning awaiting its
redemption," it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbor as yourself."
The Spirit of Advent
Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of
preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils
of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried
out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have
experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and
yet who have hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of
oppressed slaves and brought deliverance!
It is that hope, however faint at times, and that God, however distant
He sometimes seems, which brings to the world the anticipation of a
King who will rule with truth and justice and righteousness over His
people and in His creation. It is that hope that once anticipated, and now
anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will
bring peace and justice and righteousness to the world.
Part of the expectation also anticipates a judgment on sin and a
calling of the world to accountability before God. We long for God to come
and set the world right! Yet, as the prophet Amos warned, the expectation
of a coming judgment at the "Day of the Lord" may not be the day of
light that we might want, because the penetrating light of God¢s judgment
on sin will shine just as brightly on God¢s people.
Because of this important truth, especially in the Eastern Orthodox
Churches, the Season of Advent has been a time of fasting and penitence
for sins similar to the Season of Lent. However, a different emphasis for
the season of Advent has gradually unfolded in much of the rest of the
church. The season of Advent has come to be celebrated more in terms of
expectation or anticipation. Yet, the anticipation of the Coming of the
Messiah throughout the Old Testament and Judaism was not in connection
with remembrance of sins. Rather, it was in the context of oppression
and injustice, the longing for redemption, not from personal guilt and
sin but from the systemic evil of the world expressed in evil empires
and tyrants. It is in that sense that all creation groans for its
redemption as we witness the evil that so dominates our world (Rom 8:18-25).
Of course, there is the problem of longing for vindication from an evil
world when we are contributors to that evil. This is the power of the
images of Amos when he warns about longing for the "Day of the Lord"
that will really be a day of darkness (Amos 5:18-20). Still, even with
Amos¢ warning the time of Advent is one of expectation and anticipation, a
longing for God's actions to restore all things and vindicate the
righteous. This is why during Advent we as Christians also anticipate the
Second Coming as a twin theme of the season. So, while some church
traditions focus on penitence during Advent, the spirit of that expectation
from the Old Testament is better captured with a joyous sense of
expectancy. Rather than a time of mourning and fasting, Advent is celebrated
as a time of joy and happiness as we await the coming of the King. (see
Can We Sing Christmas Carols During Advent?)
There will be time enough during the rest of the journey through the
Church Year to remember our sins. It begins in Epiphany when we hear
about the brotherhood of the Kingdom, and realize our failure to effect it.
Then as we move toward and through Lent we realize that the coming of
Jesus served more to lay bare our own sin than it did to vindicate our
righteousness. There will be time to shed Peter's bitter tears as we
realize that what started with such possibility and expectation has
apparently ended in such failure.
It is only as we experience that full cycle, beginning with unbridled
joy in Advent that slowly fades into the realization of what we have
done with and to the Christ, that the awful reality of Good Friday can
have its full impact. And in that realization we can finally be ready to
hear the Good News on Resurrection Sunday! That is the journey that the
disciples took. And so there is value in taking the same journey
beginning with the anticipation and joy of Advent!
So, we celebrate with gladness the great promise in the Advent, yet
knowing that there is also a somber tone as the theme of threat is added
to the theme of promise. This is reflected in some of the Scripture
readings for Advent, in which there is a strong prophetic tone of
accountability and judgment on sin. But this is also faithful to the role of the
Coming King who comes to rule, save, and judge the world.
Because of the dual themes of threat and promise, Advent is a time of
preparation that is marked by prayer. While Lent is characterized by
fasting and a spirit of penitence, Advent¢s prayers are prayers of humble
devotion and commitment, prayers of submission, prayers for
deliverance, prayers from those walking in darkness who are awaiting and
anticipating a great light (Isa 9)!
The spirit of Advent is expressed well in the parable of the
bridesmaids who are anxiously awaiting the coming of the Bridegroom (Matt
25:1-13). There is profound joy at the Bridegroom¢s expected coming. And yet a
warning of the need for preparation echoes through the parable. But
even then, the prayer of Advent is still:
Come, O Come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel!
Evergreens and The Advent Wreath
The beginning of Advent is a time for the hanging of the green,
decoration of the church with evergreen wreaths, boughs, or trees that help to
symbolize the new and everlasting life brought through Jesus the
Christ. Some churches have a special weekday service, or the first Sunday
evening of Advent, or even the first Sunday morning of Advent, in which
the church is decorated and the Advent wreath put in place. This service
is most often primarily of music, especially choir and hand bells, and
Scripture reading, along with an explanation of the various symbols as
they are placed in the sanctuary.
The Advent wreath is an increasingly popular symbol of the beginning of
the Church year in many churches as well as homes. It is a circular
evergreen wreath (real or artificial) with five candles, four around the
wreath and one in the center. Since the wreath is symbolic and a vehicle
to tell the Christmas story, there are various ways to understand the
symbolism. The exact meaning given to the various aspects of the wreath
is not as important as the story to which it invites us to listen, and
participate.
The circle of the wreath reminds us of God Himself, His eternity and
endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath
speaks of the hope that we have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal,
of eternal life. Candles symbolize the light of God coming into the
world through the birth of His son. The four outer candles represent the
period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves
symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and
the birth of Christ.
The colors of the candles vary with different traditions, but there are
usually three purple or blue candles, corresponding to the sanctuary
colors of Advent, and one pink or rose candle. One of the purple candles
is lighted the first Sunday of Advent, a Scripture is read, a short
devotional or reading is given, and a prayer offered. On subsequent
Sundays, previous candles are relighted with an additional one lighted. The
pink candle is usually lighted on the third Sunday of Advent. However,
different churches or traditions light the pink candle on different
Sundays depending on the symbolism used (see above on Colors of Advent).
In Churches that use a Service of the Nativity, it is often lighted on
the fourth Sunday of Advent, the final Sunday before Christmas.
The light of the candles itself becomes an important symbol of the
season. The light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world that
comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. It
also reminds us that we are called to be a light to the world as we
reflect the light of God's grace to others (Isa 42:6). The progression in
the lighting of the candles symbolizes the various aspects of our
waiting experience. As the candles are lighted over the four week period, it
also symbolizes the darkness of fear and hopelessness receding and the
shadows of sin falling away as more and more light is shed into the
world. The flame of each new candle reminds the worshippers that something
is happening, and that more is yet to come. Finally, the light that has
come into the world is plainly visible as the Christ candle is lighted
at Christmas, and worshippers rejoice over the fact that the promise of
long ago has been realized.
The first candle is traditionally the candle of Expectation or Hope (or
in some traditions, Prophecy). This draws attention to the anticipation
of the coming of a Messiah that weaves its way like a golden thread
through Old Testament history. As God¢s people were abused by power hungry
kings, led astray by self-centered prophets, and lulled into apathy by
half-hearted religious leaders, there arose a longing among some for
God to raise up a new king who could show them how to be God¢s people.
They yearned for a return of God¢s dynamic presence in their midst.
And so, God revealed to some of the prophets that indeed He would not
leave His people without a true Shepherd. While they expected a new
earthly king, their expectations fell far short of God¢s revelation of
Himself in Christ. And yet, the world is not yet fully redeemed. So, we
again with expectation, with hope, await God's new work in history, the
second Advent, in which He will again reveal Himself to the world. And
we understand in a profound sense that the best, the highest of our
expectations will fall far short of what our Lord¢s Second Advent will
reveal!
The remaining three candles of Advent may be associated with different
aspects of the Advent story in different churches, or even in different
years. Usually they are organized around characters or themes as a way
to unfold the story and direct attention to the celebrations and
worship in the season. So, the sequence for the remaining three Sundays might
be Bethlehem, Shepherds, Angels. Or Peace, Love, Joy. Or John the
Baptist, the Magi, Mary. Or the Annunciation, Proclamation, Fulfillment.
Whatever sequence is used, the Scripture readings, prayers, lighting of
the candles, the participation of worshipers in the service, all are
geared to telling the story of redemption through God¢s grace in the
Incarnation.
The third candle, usually for the Third Sunday of Advent, is traditionally Pink or Rose, and symbolizes Joy at the soon Advent of the Christ.
Sometimes the colors of the sanctuary and vestments are also changed to Rose for this Sunday. However, as noted above, increasingly in many churches, the pink Advent candle is used on the fourth Sunday to mark the joy at the impending Nativity of Jesus.
Whatever sequence is adopted for these Sundays, the theme of Joy can
still be the focus for the pink candle. For example, when using the third
Sunday to commemorate the visit of the Magi the focus can be on the Joy
of worshipping the new found King. Or the Shepherds as the symbol for
the third Sunday brings to mind the joy of the proclamation made to them
in the fields, and the adoration expressed as they knelt before the
Child at the manager. If used on the fourth Sunday of Advent, it can
symbolize the Joy in fulfilled hope.
The center candle is white and is called the Christ Candle. It is
traditionally lighted on Christmas Eve or Day. However, since many
Protestant churches do not have services on those days, many light it on the
Sunday preceding Christmas, with all five candles continuing to be
lighted in services through Epiphany (Jan 6). The central location of the
Christ Candle reminds us that the incarnation is the heart of the season,
giving light to the world.
Celebrating Advent
Advent is one of the few Christian festivals that can be observed in
the home as well as at church. With its association with Christmas,
Advent is a natural time to involve children in activities at home that
directly connect with worship at church. In the home an Advent wreath is
often placed on the dining table and lighted at meals, with Scripture
readings preceding the lighting of the candles, especially on Sunday. A
new candle is lighted each Sunday during the four weeks, and then the
same candles are lighted each meal during the week. In this context, it
provides the opportunity for family devotion and prayer together, and
helps teach the Faith to children, especially if they are involved in
reading the daily Scriptures.
It is common in many homes to try to mark the beginning of Advent in
other ways as well, for the same purpose of instruction in the faith.
Some families decorate the house for the beginning of Advent, or bake
special cookies or treats, or simply begin to use table coverings for
meals. An Advent Calendar is a way to keep children involved in the entire
season. There are a wide variety of Advent calendars, but usually they
are simply a card or poster with windows that can be opened, one each
day of Advent, to reveal some symbol or picture associated with the Old
Testament story leading up to the birth of Jesus. One unique and
specialized Advent calendar that can be used either in the home or the
sanctuary is a Jesse Tree. (We have available an online Advent calendar
with devotionals for each day of Advent as well as Christmas through
Epiphany Day: NazNet's Advent and Christmas Celebration). All of these
provide opportunities to teach children the significance of this
sacred time, and to remind ourselves of it as well.
In congregational worship, the Advent wreath is the central teaching
symbol of the season, the focal point for drawing the congregation into
the beginning of the story of redemption that will unfold throughout the
church year. For this reason, members of the congregation are often
involved in lighting the Advent candles and reading the appropriate
Scriptures each Sunday. While in some churches it is customary for this to
be done by families, it can also be an especially good opportunity to
demonstrate the unity of the entire community of Faith by including those
without families, such as those never married, divorced, widowed,
elderly who live by themselves, or college students away from home.
An Advent Reflection
It is truly a humbling experience to read back through the Old
Testament and see how frail and imperfect all the "heroes" actually are.
Abraham, the coward who cannot believe the promise. Jacob, the cheat who
struggles with everybody. Joseph, the immature and arrogant teen. Moses,
the impatient murderer who cannot wait for God. Gideon, the cowardly
Baal-worshipper. Samson, the womanizing drunk. David, the power abusing
adulterer. Solomon, the unwise wise man. Hezekiah, the reforming king who
could not quite go far enough. And finally, a very young Jewish girl
from a small village in a remote corner of a great empire.
It never ceases to amaze me why God could not have chosen "better"
people to do His work in the world. Yet if God can use them, and reveal
Himself through them in such marvelous ways, it means that He might be
able to use me, inadequate, and unwise, and too often lacking in faith
that I am. And it means that I need to be careful that I do not in my own
self-righteousness put limits on what God can do with the most unlikely
of people in the most unlikely of circumstances. I think that is part
of the wonder of the Advent Season.


Thank You God for seeing for us to alway's to remember what this time of year it is for everyone to reflect on and see what we ourselves to know and to feel just what it's ment for the whole human beings that is living and breathing souls that just inclines us from what forever has given insights unto us from the moment You stepped out of Birth to those final hours of Your own Life Jesus and we will alway's rejoice in being a child of Your service to all mankind. catcmo2006

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