Advent - Celebrating the Coming of our Lord

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By Dawn Ford.   

Part 1 in a 5 part series.

Looking Both Ways

When I was a little girl, my best friend Holly lived around the corner and down the block. Before I was able to walk by myself, I had to prove to my mother that I could get there safely.  Part of the proof was that I looked both ways before I crossed the street.

It seems to me many Christians today have forgotten the necessity of “looking both ways.” I don’t mean looking to the left and right on a specific street, but rather to events in the past and events in the future.  Like the rest of our culture, all too often we get so caught up in the urgency of our daily lives that we fail to notice the larger picture of which we are only a small part.

The Meaning of Advent

The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus and means “arrival” or “coming.” The season of Advent, which originated in the 6th century A.D., is a four-week period preceding December 25^th.   During this time, Christians dedicate themselves both to remembrance and to anticipation. Advent is all about looking both ways, because during these four weeks, we take time to slow down and look behind us to Christ’s first coming (the adventus) and ahead of us to the Second Coming (the parousia).

 A Time of Anticipation

The important thing Advent helps us remember is that we are located between these two arrivals, seemingly stuck somewhere after the “already” but still within the “not yet” of God’s kingdom. Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life, has already come in the flesh. He has already been crucified. He has already been resurrected. He has already defeated death. The victory has already been won.

Nevertheless, we do not yet see the full effects of Christ’s victory played out in our world. Death is not yet merely a distant nightmare. Our lives are not yet free from all sin. Peace and justice are not yet ubiquitous. Hunger has not yet become a thing of the past. HIV and AIDS have not yet been defeated.

Admittedly, this can seem quite confusing. We may find ourselves despairing—wondering why, if Christ were really victorious, so many awful things continue in our world. Why does my friend have cancer? Why can’t I find a job? Why do thousands die every day from lack of clean water or millions in the developing world suffer from treatable diseases?

A Time of Self Examination

No, things most certainly are not as they should be. Yet the great hope of the good news we profess is that all things will one day be put right. We look both ways at Advent to remind ourselves of this. But we mustn’t do this lightly or halfheartedly. After all, the whole point of looking both ways before crossing the road is so you’ll know what you ought to do: If there is a car approaching, you shouldn’t step into the street. By helping us remember exactly where, or rather when, we are, Advent reminds us of the kind of people we ought to be during the brief years we are given in this life.  

And in the meantime, we wait. Too often, though, we think waiting is a passive thing. We just go about our business, and sooner or later, God will do His thing. But this thinking is deeply flawed. Again and again in the New Testament, Jesus gives us parables that suggest that waiting must be active. This waiting is less like watching a sunset and more like preparing for winter: The wood must be chopped and stacked, the harvest brought into the barn, the leaky roof mended. After all, it is the slothful and lazy servant—the one who merely buries the talent he’s been entrusted with by the master—who receives a harsh punishment upon the master’s return (Matthew 25:14-30).

A Time of Celebration

By looking into the past, we’re reminded of all that Christ has done. By looking into the future, we’re expectant of all Christ will do. Advent helps us remember that we’ve got work to do while we wait. Not so that God will love us, but rather because He already does. We love, after all, because “he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). The intentional practices of Advent frame our responsibilities and help us take a good, sober look at our lives during the in-between times.

Christ has come. Christ is risen. Christ is coming again. He’s given us work to do in the meantime. How are we living: selfishly or selflessly? Are we caring for our world? Are we loving our God? Are we loving our neighbors?

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love

The above picture shows the traditional Advent wreath.  A candle is lite each week to represent a biblical theme.  Over the coming weeks I'll be discussing the themes of hope, peace, joy and love.  In the center of the wreath is the fifth candle, the Christ candle, which is lite on Christmas Eve to make the Messiah's arrival.  I'm looking forward to taking this journey with you.  

Questions:

1. How does your family get ready to celebrate the birth of our Lord?

2. What things could you and your family do differently this year to slow down, and actually enjoy this time of year?


Dawn Ford is the founder and VP of Infinite Love Ministries, INC.  A not for profit corporation dedicated to showing all the infinite love of Christ.  For more information, check out our website at www.infiniteloveministries.com.

Excerpts taken from —Mike Yankoski foreword from the World Vision Advent Study Guide
Author of Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America and executive editor of Zealous Love: A Practical Guide to Social Justice