Rediscovering Advent
Growing up in an evangelical Baptist church I had never participated in the season of Advent. In fact, I am not sure I had even heard of it until coming to school and unfortunately, due to a multitude of factors, my story is not a rarity in this current climate but it seems to be a majority. So the first question is, what exactly is Advent? I am so glad you asked. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming”. It is a time when we reflect on the thousands of years of God’s chosen people waiting for the Christs first coming and when we ourselves look to the second coming and the full victory over death. It is a season of hope, of longing, of anticipation, of joy, and of remembrance. It is this perfect combination of remembering the past and looking towards the future. It begins four Sundays before Christmas with each Sunday having a different focus and different reading all in anticipation of the Saviors birth.
Okay. Well, now I know what it is. But why should I participate in it? Is it prescribed in scripture? The short answer is no it isn’t prescribed in scripture. But Advent directly connects us to the longing of a Savior. We can look back on the Old Testament and see the build to the climax of Jesus. We can look back and see how blessed we are as modern Christians to have the scripture, to stand on the teachings of the scriptures and the learnings of other biblically minded leaders of the church both in the past and in the present. We are blessed to know who the savior is and advent provides a perfect time specifically set aside to do just that. It is not a substitute for your faith but a time where you can join in with Christians around the world relishing in our blessings and looking forward to God’s promise of a second return. But most importantly it is a great tool in teaching your children about the hope you found through the father in Jesus Christ as Savior by the holy spirit.
That sounds amazing! But how can myself and my church participate in this time? Well, there are many ways. We have traditions like the Advent Wreath, the Advent Calendar, the prescribed readings, etc which we literally have years of church history and writings on them. These are a great option and I would highly recommend your church consider participating in them along with millions of other Christians around the globe. But here are a few ideas I would like to provide you so that we can continue to combine our rich history as Christians with our modern abilities as 21st-century humans. The first one has dramatized readings with the lighting of the Advent Wreath. So imagine this everyone in your congregation comes in and take their seats like a normal Sunday. But all of a sudden the house lights go dim and a spotlight hits the stage where one of your congregants are on stage dressed as one of the Old Testament prophets or other important people. They then proceed to read the scripture reading for the day that emphasizes the longing for the coming Messiah. At the conclusion of the reading, he goes over to the Advent Wreath and lights the first of four candles. Directly following your worship minister and choir begins to lead the congregation in O come, O come, Emanuel, while the room is still dark symbolizing the scriptures desire for a savior that has not yet come. This dramatization of the scripture will hopefully present it in a new light that opens up conversations and allows those who aren’t yet saved to understand what Christs hope brought and reminds those who are saved of the hope we have because the Messiah has already come and is coming again. The second and last one I want to offer to you as an option is more family oriented. As a church create a nightly reading plan for the families which the families will spend time together reading and fellowshipping together. I might even suggest grouping families together to participate in a meal and fellowship with one another much in homes much like the early Christians would have done. This will again connect us to our rich heritage as Christians while focusing us on the hope to come.
As Christians, we have a great responsibility to pass on the teaching of the Bible to the next generation. Advent is just one way that we have done that and continue to do so. If your church does not participate in Advent or is looking to do so in a slightly different way I hope these ideas bear much fruit and that your church takes these ideas and use them to celebrate the birth of the Savior and the anticipation of His return in a way that will best bring this realization to life.
