Rev. Douglas J. House, M.Div.
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” 15th Century Advent Hymn
The Christian calendar is divided into various “seasons” and the four weeks prior to Christmas are collectively known as the Season of Advent. Advent is a time of preparation. It is the season when Christians look to a time when Christ will return and the Kingdom of God will be ushered in. Advent, by its very nature, looks to the future as the term derives from Latin advenire, meaning, “that which is to come”. It is a season that expresses many different feelings and expectations. For centuries, Advent has offered expectations to the faithful which have not yet been realized, yet still Christians hope for that which is to come – the arrival of the Christ of faith once again. So, as some have said, Advent is a time of waiting for the arrival of the “once and future king” in Christ Jesus.
Advent is a Season of Hope
Perhaps the most prevalent feeling that Advent offers is the feeling of hope. Today, we live in a world where, so often, life seems upside down. People struggle in their efforts to make ends meet when they go to the grocery store or sit down to pay their monthly bills. People struggle with health care costs and the challenges that aging seems to bring about. We are aware of those who, in our time, either have no housing or inadequate housing, and suffer as well from food insecurities. We wonder how it is that all of this might be turned around. We wonder in what ways we might be able to respond, offering hope to others when we might be searching for words of hope in our lives as well.
In the season of Advent, we hold out hope that the smallest effort we make in the life of another person might make a difference, not only for them but also for us. Much as a stone cast into a body of water creates ripples, so an act of kindness or generosity can be viewed with a feeling of hope, a hope that might help others to do the same thing in the life of another. For as others have said, “hope is love, projected forward”.
Advent is a Season of Peace
In today’s world, peace seems elusive. Whether we look at our own lives or listen to the plights of others in our day, people are failing to find peace in ways that they seek. The world seems unable to offer even a glimpse of genuine, deep-rooted peace; the kind of peace that touches our hearts and souls. The peace that permits us to be free from the shackles of life that we so often endure.
But in the season of Advent, we anticipate the coming of one who brings peace to our world. He invites us to stand with those for whom life is nothing short of chaos. And from the reaches of chaos, hope instructs us that peace will come, not only to our life, but to the entire world.
Advent is a Season of Joy
Once we determine that there is hope, and that in time, peace will come to reign, we understand that the result is “joy”. We come to be moved from moments of despair to experiences of joy, and joy differs from happiness. Happiness is often fleeting and superficial. I may be happy when I encounter a friend that I have not seen in a long while. And yet after our encounter, I may feel joyous as the time we shared touched my heart and soul somehow. In our re-connection, I became changed in a way that I can only describe as joyous. When we share ourselves in our effort to aid someone in need, we discover joy in giving. In the simplicity of sharing to ease the burdens of others, we can find joy…a joy that is deeper than mere happiness in a world that is hurting.
Advent is a Season of Love
So often in our world today, love is defined as a feeling we have about someone. But when we think of love in a season of anticipation, we are speaking about something else…something beyond an emotional reaction to someone. The New Testament was first written in Greek, and the word that is often used for “love” is αγαπη (agape) which literally means “love in service”. So, we come to understand that the Season of Advent beckons us to experience hope in our lives, a hope that moves us to seek peace and to share that peace with others. In so doing, we become open to the joy that the season can bring, and we become moved to help others find hope, peace, joy, and love in their lives as well.
“Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.”
-Collect for the First Sunday of Advent
