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Rick Swenton, Liturgy and Worship Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, is a time of preparation, desire, longing and expectancy. It is the time of preparation for Christ's coming and a beautifully rich time of the church year. In this season, the church recalls not only the first coming of Christ as infant Messiah on Christmas but also reflects His second coming. For us today, we acknowledge Christ’s "third coming." That is the coming of Christ to us every day by virtue of His freely given love and grace. So Advent is not simply a time when we prepare for Christmas. There's so much more.  When Advent arrives, the tunes of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and "Prepare The Way Of The Lord" are enchanting our thoughts. Their repetition in lyric and tune suggest the centuries of waiting in hope by the faithful who unceasingly believed in the promise foretold by Isaiah. "A voice cries out, 'Prepare the way of the Lord!'" We see the Advent Wreath - a symbol of Advent - itself filled with symbols. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. The candles give light - symbolic of Christ as the light of the world. The flame of the candle is a light in the darkness just as Jesus is a light to our world today. The evergreen branches are a sign of life. They are arranged in a circle to symbolize eternal nature of God. Even the ritual of lighting the candles in additive sequence is symbolic. On the fourth week, the greater brightness of all four candles is symbolic of the closeness of the arrival of the Messiah! It's not only Christmas we remember. Christ is among us right here, every day.
The church prepares us for Christ’s coming using scripture in three distinct steps during Advent: In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah reveals the pending arrival of our Messiah. This progressive announcement helps to build our anticipation and our sense of longing. In the New Testament, John the Baptist announces the advent of the Messiah. Through his words, we are prompted to compliment our Advent longing with a desire to reform our lives. Finally, in the New Testament, God chose Mary to become the Mother of God. The salvation of God’s people is built on a human framework. The history of our salvation is based on longing (Isaiah), reformation (John the Baptist), and intimacy with God (Mary). During Advent, the scripture readings focus on the past, present and future: Christ was born, Christ is truly present here and now, and Christ will return at the second coming. Jesus’ coming to us is an unending event today and throughout all time. We are encouraged to watch, wait and reflect. We focus our attention on experiencing the Word in the scripture readings. We let the Word magnify our own personal longing and desire for change in our lives and intimacy with God. “O radiant light, O Sun divine of God the Father’s deathless face, O image of the Light sublime that fills the heavenly dwelling place.” – Phos Hilaron Come, Lord Jesus. Come now and forever.
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