What is Advent All About?

Definition of Advent: According to the dictionary, it means an arrival or coming, especially one which is awaited. In the Christian tradition it is the season including the four Sundays preceding Christmas.

My upbringing included very little of the concept or celebration of the Advent. Other than chocolate advent calendars (that I don't care for because I dislike chocolate), that was all I had ever heard of the topic. Fast forward a couple decades and today it has become quite special to me. It is special because it is full of faith in the promises of God and as Hebrews 11:1 tells us, faith is filled with hope or expectation.

When my wife and I were preparing to have our first child, we counted down the days till the "due date." We were full of anticipation as the time grew nearer. We were busy at home (lived with my parents at that time) preparing space for her, procuring a crib, bassinette, car seat, stroller, and much more. There is a lot of preparation that goes into have a child. Our hard work in preparation was because we were "expecting" to bring home a little girl, in other words, she would be arriving soon (though we did not know the exact day nor hour). Had we not had any expectation, we would not have been busy preparing ourselves and our environment for her arrival... Life would continue on as normal.

For us, as in ancient Judea, we are full of expecation of our Lord's arrival and celebrate the promises of God for His people. As ancient Israel would read Isaiah 61:1-2, they would anticipate the coming of this figure of a servant who will be the emodiment of the arm of the Lord and would be anointed to rescue His people. We can see the Holy Trinity in this narrative, God the Father, sending this Servant figure, equipped with the Spirit to bring about the restoration that had been promised. This brought expectation to those with eyes to see and ears to hear. The people of God would be preparing for the coming of God, though, He would come not in the way they expected.

In Luke 4, we see the revealing of this servant figure in Jesus' address at the synagogue in Nazareth. After opening the scroll, finding Isaiah 61, reading it aloud for all to hear, Jesus said, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." What beautiful words to hear and a moment to experience. Yet, a few moments later, these same people who were at once amazed, drove Jesus to the brow of the hill in order to throw him off the cliff. As I said, He didn't come the way they expected.

This, I think, is a good look at the tension of advent. Much like the tension we find in our own lives. What I mean is, we often think we know exactly what God is doing or what God's will is supposed to look like in our lives (normally this includes much of what we could call "The American Dream"). We see all the promises of God, those of salvation, deliverance, and rescue and conclude that my life is going to be free of all trouble and pain... that is, if I just have enough faith. Yet, the true example of faith is seen in the Author of our faith - Jesus. Faith looks like the Gethsamane scene, it looks like the laying down of my life for someone else, it looks like the trust Jesus had in the Father that through the terror of the cross, victory would be acccomplished.

And so, the Advent expectation, turns for us to the Advent Vocation. Being living examples of this faith, prayer, and love to the world around us. Trusting that no matter what it is we face, through prayer, God will somehow work through the darkness and pain to produce the fruits of the promised New Creation. Because, like ancient Israel being full of expectation, we too look forward to the Second Advent, as the Apostle Paul put it, the parousia or the "appearing of Jesus." We long, we love, and we look for the day of Jesus' return - the day when all wrongs are put right.

So we live in expectation, we live in the mode of preparation for our King's return. Titus 2:11-14 sums up our attitude perfectly.

"The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."

We live in the tension of Advent, it is a life filled with hope and expectation of God's saving promises, working through us now (though often not how we expect), and espcially of the King's appearing. Yet it is also a life of saying "no" to the passions of this world, saying "no" to values and pursuits that are bombarding us everyday and saying "yes" to what is good. Saying yes, as Jesus people, to take on His servant identity and share good news with the oppressed, bringing comfort to those who mourn, binding up the brokenhearted, giving release to the prisoners, and proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor. 

As my wife and I prepared for the arrival of our newly born daughter, may we, in anticipation of Jesus' return prepare for His arrival by being people of prayer and good works. If we truly live in expectation of the promised return of our Great King, we will live different lives. We understand that what we do truly matters.