An introduction to the Advent season
As we move into the season of Advent, we remember that it is a season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, the incarnation of our Savior. It is a time to look back to Jesus’s first coming, when God broke through the darkness of our world and brought us hope. It is also the time when we look forward to His second coming, knowing that evil and darkness will be abolished forever. And it is a time for us, the Church, to remember that we are to love one another, just as God has loved us.
For those who are interested, the word advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which is a translation of the Greek word parousia, a word which means “coming/advent” and is used to describe both Christ’s incarnation and His second coming.
And the meaning of the word is basis for the Church’s observation of Advent. For the first two weeks, we focus on Jesus’s future second coming, and for the final two weeks we focus on His first coming. Advent marks the beginning of the Church’s liturgical year, and throughout the celebration of this liturgical season we remember that we are living in “the great in-between,” the time between our Lord’s resurrection and second coming. Advent, then, is meant to call our attention both forward and backward as we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. “The birth of Christ is the central event in the history of the earth—the very thing the whole story has been about.” – C.S. Lewis
Week 1 of Advent - HOPE
This first week of Advent focuses on hope. We, the Church, look to Scripture and rejoice in God’s revelation of His redemptive plan. We remember that He revealed His plan of salvation to His people, that He sent His Son as the fulfillment of that plan, and that we are waiting for Christ’s return to fully complete the plan. We fix our hearts on Jesus’s future return, waiting for Him as a bride faithfully waits for her groom to appear (Matthew 25). Our confidence lies not in ourselves, but in God who is faithful. As He was faithful to fulfill Old Testament prophecy and come the first time, so He will be faithful to fulfill New Testament prophecy and come again, bringing history to its conclusion and uniting His Church to Himself forever. Thus, we look forward in hope! And hope, as described in Scripture, is not wishful thinking. Rather, it is the confident expectation that God will do what He’s promised, based upon His past faithfulness. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’.” – Revelation 21:3-4