Advent

Have you noticed that retailers begin to promote Christmas earlier and earlier each year? Taking my mother to visit her local garden centre in Broadstairs seven weeks ago, I was astonished to find the comprehensive display of everything Christmassy – even Santa’s Grotto! The reason is probably retailers’ desperate need to secure cash and also the thought that many may understandably want to have something to look forward to during the pandemic.

For a Christian, the time to prepare for Christmas is set to a particular period (season) and for a particular purpose. In the church calendar, the season of Advent always begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day (Advent Sunday) and concludes at midnight on Christmas Eve. The word Advent comes from a Latin word adventus which means ‘coming’. The Latin adventus is translated from the Greek word parousia. This word is commonly used in the Bible in reference to the second coming of Christ that will lead to the final judgment and the consummation of the Kingdom of God.

So in the season of Advent, Christians are invited to prepare themselves to celebrate both the coming of Christ as a baby in ignominious surroundings and His second coming in glory. As we wait to celebrate, we’re invited to examine and prepare our hearts, minds and lives - to be ready! Waiting and preparation are the two key themes of the season of Advent.

To help us, the church uses the liturgy of the advent wreath of candles together with a teaching programme. Our theme this year is, ‘Comfort & Joy: All I Want For Christmas Is….’ And dating back to Germany in 1851, the Advent Calendar was invented to help our spiritual preparation to celebrate Jesus’ birth and return. Finally, as in Lent, many Christians also choose to use a devotional book as we count down the days to Christmas. This is why this year, everyone is invited to join with our church book ‘Into the Heart of Advent’.

I pray that Advent will be a time of blessing for all as we wait and prepare.