This past Sunday marked the beginning of the season of Advent. The word advent means coming. This is the season of the year in which the Church focuses on the "coming of Christ." This time of year, we look back on the coming of Christ as a baby born in Bethlehem, and so prepare for a meaningful, worship-filled Christmas. We also use this time to look forward, to the coming of Christ when He returns to this Earth in power and glory, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, in a demonstration of His majesty and splendor. This is what the time of Advent is designed for us to do.
A Partial Advent
In reality, our focus during this season is often on all the things related to Christmas except the birth of Christ, with limited thoughts given to His return. Our Advent is generally filed with Christmas shopping, decorations, lights, putting up a tree or trees, holiday baking, addressing Christmas cards, wrapping presents, planning gatherings and parties (perhaps even during a pandemic!), etc. I believe all of these things are good things, generally speaking, but it is sad if they become counter-productive to the purpose of the season of Advent. If somehow, they can remind us of the first coming of Jesus, they can play a part in a good Advent and a worship-filled Christmas. Often, however, this is not the case. The activities are not a means to an end but become an end in themselves.
Even in a best-case scenario, our Advent is a "partial Advent". There is little to no focus on the second coming of Jesus. None of our seasonal activities serve to focus us on the reality that Jesus is coming again. The reality of His second coming is as certain as the reality of His first coming, but during this season our attention is likely to be a focus on His coming as a baby, born to a virgin. A partial Advent is ultimately better than an ignored Advent, but still, it is incomplete.
He is Coming Back
What if this year really is Advent? What if Jesus is coming back to this Earth soon? What should we be doing? How should we be prepared? Who should we tell? How should we get the word out? How would this impact the way we spend our money, time, and relationships? What would this do to the barriers that exist between us and those we love? Since Advent is a time to prepare for His coming, what would a "life of Advent” look like? These are important questions because it really is Advent...He really is coming back!
At the time of the first Advent, John the Baptist gave us a good idea of how to prepare for the Coming of Jesus. He said in Luke 3, that we should "prepare the way" for Him to come. To do this, we should knock down the mountains that are in the way, fill up the places that are low, get rid of crooked things, and smooth out the rough places in our lives and the lives of others. When making a physical road for someone to travel on, these things are easy to see, even if they are difficult to do. When considering the equivalencies for our lives, it is more challenging to see the things that are too low (or too little), too crooked, too rough, and even see all the mountains that may be present. Perhaps this season of Advent is the perfect time to see what is needed in our spiritual lives to prepare the way for the Lord to come. This year, prepare the way for the Advent of Jesus!
As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.