I remember when I first learned of the season of Advent, I thought it was a rather pointless observance. I was 17, a senior in high school, working in a Christian bookstore and was amaze at the sudden emergence of Advent calendars throughout our shop. Growing up in a Protestant community that had almost completely removed itself from the liturgical calendar, the need to “expectantly await the arrival of the Messiah” struck me as dimwitted and perhaps even a bit heretical. I would remind my fellow workers that Jesus had already come, dwelled in out hearts, and the thought that we must wait for his first coming was wrong for he was already here.
When I got to college, I was mentored by a man who came from a much more liturgical tradition and his words of wisdom blended with my own study of the Church and I began to have a change of heart about Advent as well as the liturgical calendar. Since yesterday marked the beginning of Advent, I thought it would be appropriate to share a bit about what this season has come to mean to me along with a what I hope will be an encouraging note.
Advent - the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.
We all know the story. Mary, a virgin, engaged to a faithful man named Joseph, is visited by an angel and told that she is to give birth to the son God. This son is to be named Jesus, “for He will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) and he will be called “Immanuel, God with us” (1:23).
For those of us raised in Christian homes, we have been taught our whole lives that our sins are forgiven, and that God is always with us. For those living in 1st century Palestine, this was something new. If the message given to Mary were true, this meant that every aspect of life was about to change. Gone would be the bondage to keep the Law and the days of animal and personal sacrifice. The need for temples made by men would be drastically changed along with the understanding of an individual’s identity. If Jesus truly was the Son of God, really could take away all sin, and even dwelt among men, everything would change.
I think that this is the heart of Advent that I have come to love this time of year. Yes, maybe I was right all those years ago that Jesus had already come and that he was already here. While perhaps Advent simply serves as a reminder to this truth, I think all of us might still say that there are areas of our lives that we wish would be completely changed. The economy is still in the gutter, and so are out morals, as according to Britney, “living in sin is the new thing.” What else? Are there places in your life right now where you desperately wish Jesus, the Messiah, would come and completely change? Finances? Marriage? Work? Everything?
I think the answer to all of these questions is yes. Jesus has come, we have been redeemed, set free, and his very presence dwells in us. He has come, and is still here. At the same time, life goes on around us, and we get caught up in it. I know several people who have no idea how they will financially make it through the holidays, others that are facing divorce and many more that hate their jobs.
This Advent season, we need a reminder that God is with us, and is still in the business of changing everything. Get excited! He has come, and is coming, closer, and closer, and closer.
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
“For nothing will be impossible with God” - Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:37)
“Grace changes everything” - Josh Bayne
grace and peace,
ACG
