Advent: Wonder & Waiting
Do you remember the anticipation of Christmas morning as a child? I know I do. Remember back with me to the moment that marks the holiday season with hope, joy, love and peace. A moment when the wonder of anticipating Christmas morning met the anguish of waiting for it’s arrival! What was it for you? Moments with a dearly loved family member or friend? A gift you’ve been waiting to receive or to give?
As I have matured through seasons and moments of life, Christmas morning has become less about waiting to receive and more about waiting to give. I have just about everything I could ever want and need, but there is something magical about the gift giving process. Thinking about a plan, executing the plan and watching the joy fill the faces of those whom you gave your gift to. All of the work, all of the preparation, all of the commitment, all of the resources culminating in that moment. It’s full of wonder and full of waiting.
The moment comes, and the moment goes. Hopefully the nature of our gift giving provides something meaningful for the recipient beyond the moment of joy we experienced together, but that's mostly out of our hands, our work is done!
For many reasons the Holiday season is precious and magical, for other reasons it can be painful and miserable. For me, it’s often a mixed bag of emotions that are filled with deep joy and at the same time sorrow. Add to this the tyranny of hustle and hurry that this season brings, and man, it can just be flat out exhausting.
What should be marked by beauty, wonder, waiting, and glory often gets overshadowed by over indulgence, doesn’t it? We spend too much, we eat too much, we over extend ourselves in every way imaginable. Sometimes, this season comes and goes, and I’m left feeling pretty underwhelmed and disappointed! Anyone resonate with this? Is this what this season is all about?
I didn’t grow up celebrating or even recognizing Advent. This was new to me upon my arrival at Missio Dei Church in 2015! Over these past 6 or so seasons of Advent my appreciation and affection for this practice has grown tremendously. Perhaps Advent is an integral part of your spiritual formation and practice already, if so I hope this short writing encourages you in these practices and traditions. Perhaps though, you’re like me in 2015 and you are new to Advent. If so, I hope this short writing equips and encourages you as you step into this Advent season!
WHAT IS ADVENT?
Advent is a season within the liturgical calendar of the Church and has been celebrated throughout history within many faith backgrounds. It begins the Sunday following Thanksgiving Day and ends on Christmas Eve, although for us at Missio Dei, Advent culminates on our beloved Eve of the Eve Family Hymnsing. Pastor Kurt and his family will be using a resource entitled, “Shadow and Light: A Journey into Advent”, by Tsh Oxenreider. I love this description of Advent contained within it:
“The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means coming or visit. Advent is the season of preparation before Christmas, when we celebrate the human incarnation of Christ.
As we preparare, we remember history’s longing for a Messiah before Jesus’s birth and what it would have been like to wait and wonder. Advent is also a reminder of our anticipation of the return of Christ, when He will restore the earth to its original state and make right all wrongs. This season is a recognition of the current state of life here on earth, acknowledging the fraught tension of living between the time of the already of the first Advent of God and the not yet of its full redemptive completion. Advent is about remembering that Christ has already come to save the world while recognizing that the work of redemption will not be finished until He comes again.
Advent is also a realization of our daily, ongoing preparation—the work of inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives and making room for Christ to do a good work in us. We lean into the reality that though we are saved from death because of the cross, we are still a work in progress.
Much like the way we ready our homes for guests when company is coming, we prepare ourselves. We prepare our homes, yes, by slowly decorating for the great feast of the Nativity on December 25, but we also prepare our hearts, minds and souls. Advent is the season of expectancy, prpreperation, and longing.”
Advent is a season of waiting and wonder. Waiting as God’s people have always waited for their Messiah and their redemption. Wonder as we consider the incarnation of Christ. God took on flesh and entered humanity. The first Advent of Jesus changed everything and we wait in hopeful anticipation for His second Advent where the renewal of all things is finished once and for all! I long for this day, and Advent is a reminder of this longing for me and for you!
HOW CAN WE CELEBRATE ADVENT?
As a Church family, we’ll pause together each Sunday and reflect upon Advent. Each week of Advent is marked by a specific focus of our waiting and wonder. We’ll focus on these specific weeks during our pastoral prayer and preparatory times of silence. We’ll light the specific candle within our Advent wreath in our gathering space that corresponds with our weekly focus. Additionally we’ll open up the Gospel according to Matthew each Sunday of Advent and hear a sermon on the Incarnation of Jesus and the implications it has on our lives. Our lobby and gathering space will be beautifully decorated and we’ll enjoy some of our favorite Advent hymns together during the response times of our gathering. Our hope is that each Sunday would be an invitation to slow down amidst the hustle and bustle that this season can bring and be reminded of God’s goodness to us in Christ Jesus.
Additionally, we encourage you to seek out an advent plan for you and your friends and family. There are so many options available. Recently we sent out a recommended resource from our friend and fellow Harbor Network Pastor Ronnie Martin in our Missio Monthly Newsletter. His book is called, “The Best Gift Ever Given, a 25-Day Journey Through Advent from God’s good Gifts to God's Great Son.” Many of our families use and have used the Jessie’s Tree materials to celebrate Advent. This year our Pastor’s will be using some resources to celebrate with their families.
Pastor Kurt and his family will be using “Shadow and Light: A Journey into Advent” by Tsh Oxenreider. My family and I will be using “Tracing Glory: The Christmas Story Through the Bible” by Sarah Rice. Pastor Mikey and his family will be using “The Characters of Christmas” by Daniel Darling.
This Advent season, I’d like to invite you to slow down. This season that often brings out the worst in people can be a beautiful season of rest and reflection if we are intentional about creating the space for it!. Celebrating Advent has brought a renewed meaning to this time of year for me and my family as we reflect on the Incarnation of Jesus and the multitude of implications this has for us, our family and the world around us.
Advent is an invitation to slow down from the hurry of life, to wait surrounded by a culture that waits for nothing, and to wonder imaginatively about what is, and what could be in a world that seems so dark and evil. Advent invites me to wait, and to wonder and I can’t think of two things I am worst at. This is what Advent has been for me these past several years, and I pray it becomes the same for you!
Submitted By: Matt Korte