10. Advent is Latin for “come in” and the practice of observing Advent prior to Christmas goes back before the Middle Ages. For these many centuries, Advent was a penitential season, like a slightly shorter Lent. Christians were encouraged to fast, give to the poor, and devote themselves to other outward and inward signs of faith as part of the work of getting ready for the advent of Christ, for Jesus to “come in.” We as Lutherans no longer observe Advent as a season of repentance, but as one of joyful anticipation in the fulfillment of God’s promises. Each candle we light, hymn we sing, and prayer we utter is part of how we join in the Spirit’s preparation for what is to come.
9. By the 1600s, northern hemisphere Christians adopted the practices of their non-Christian (usually pagan) neighbors, using rings of candles to mark the passing of the dark season associated with northern winters. We know that versions of these candle rings were being used in connection to the Advent season in the 1600s, especially in Germany. By the early 1800s, Advent wreaths that would look more familiar to us were in use in Europe as a teaching tool to help children mark time until Christmas. Such wreaths didn’t come into widespread use in the United States until the late 1800s and early 1900s.
8. Since official church use of the Advent wreath is much newer than use of it in the home, “official” prayers and liturgies for lighting the candles in the congregation are still being developed, written, and adjusted. The most common themes for the four Sundays of Advent are “hope”, “peace”, “joy”, and “love”. Blue candles and blue church decorations are used for Advent in most Protestant and some Catholic traditions because of the connection between blue and hope. The Roman Catholic Church still officially uses purple for Advent, but both some Protestant and Catholic traditions use a pink candle for the third Sunday in Advent to go with the theme of joy.
7. There are alternate themes to go with the candles. For example, the candles are sometimes lit to represent prophets, Bethlehem, shepherds, and angels. These connect to the other themes with the idea that the prophets had hope, Bethlehem (the City of David) had faith, the shepherds had joy, and the angels proclaim peace. Please note that it is difficult to use the word “traditional” around Advent themes when most of them are less than 150 years old.
6. Speaking of traditional, the singular, oldest tradition we have around this church season is the hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. This hymn was composed for use during vespers- evening prayer- services sometime prior to the 8th century, The earliest printing we know of was in the 1200s. The verses, in Latin, spell out a reminder of Christ’s coming. They also lift some of the many biblical names and promises attached to Jesus’ birth as God coming among us. The tune is meant to sound both mournful and rejoicing, underscoring the themes of the season- both joyful anticipation and heavy longing.
5. We often assume heavy longing is necessary because of the idea that Advent is an eschatological season. Eschatology is a fancy church word that means study or focus on the final things. In our day, right now, people use the word eschatological when they are talking about the last days and what will happen at the end of all things. However, that has not always been the case in Christianity. The development and use of the word, eschatological, in English only goes back to about 1850. Does this mean that people weren’t worried about what comes next before 1850? No, but it means they weren’t spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on pamphlets, books, movies, and television ads that promised to tell them exactly when and how things would end. They focused on their own families, their communities, and the faith that God had everything else under control. It wasn’t fatalistic way to live, but a trusting one with a deep, abiding consolation that God had kept promises before and would again.
4. That kind of faith brings us to the other way to use the term, eschatology. In Christian mysticism, eschatology is a metaphor for the end of ordinary reality and a reunion with the divine. This means that readings and hymns about destruction and the end of the world as we know it are meant to help us dig deep, become more attuned to the Spirit, and find within ourselves and all around us a greater awareness of the presence of Divine love. I realize for super concrete-thinking Norwegians, practical Germans, and please make it plain Montanans of all descents, that sounds a little woo-woo and maybe like something you can pretend you didn’t hear in this sermon. (*Please hold while I look you all in the eye with my patented “Pastor Julia stare”.)
There is a very real aspect to faithful living that is beyond our full explanation, but not beyond our comprehension. You’ve all felt it when outdoors, in a quiet moment of thought while moving a herd or a flock, or in a meditative moment doing dishes, sewing, gathering wood, or cleaning animals for the freezer. You know what it means to have an awareness both of yourself in a moment and of that particular moment’s connection to something larger, something more, something that both is the source of everything and welcomes all things home. That is the essence of real Advent eschatology- those moments that pause the ordinary reality (with its unnecessary hustle and bustle) and causes us to be connected to the very ground and source of our being.
3. It is that particular moment and experience that pastors, teachers, musicians, and choir directors are striving for when they hold back on the Christmas music and keep Advent in place for all four weeks. The Advent hymns are not focused on getting ready to celebrate a baby; they are focused on Christ’s return, the fulfillment of God’s promises, and the hope we all hold for the time when all things are made new. Listen again, God has not promised to make all new things, but to heal, renew, restore, and resurrect- making all things new. This truth is the focus of Advent. This truth matters and it cannot, should not, and will not be rushed, not matter what the world tries to press upon us.
2. If we rush, we will get the wrong idea about God. If we rush, we will miss the moments to perceive and understand the nature of the Holy to whom the psalmist prays, “Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long. Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, for they are from everlasting.” (Ps. 25:4-6).
If we rush, we will miss already with us glories of the one of whom Jeremiah proclaims, “6In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” (Jer 33:16)
If we push past Advent and all it brings, we will misunderstand the One whom Paul says can, “make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.” (1 Thess. 3:12)
If we rush, we will forget the word of Jesus, word that tells us there are always going to be disasters in the world around us, yet our redemption, the kingdom of God, our own peace is near. (Luke 21:25-36)
1. The number 1 thing to remember about Advent is that it exists for a reason. It has its own lessons to teach us besides waiting for Christmas. Advent has lessons about waiting with joy, about saying yes to what sounds impossible, about remaining strong in faith, about doing what’s right even when afraid, and about the ultimate truth that God is love. If we listen carefully, openly, and with mystical eschatological hope to the lessons of Advent, we will not come to the idea that we are sinners in the hands of an angry God.
If we listen carefully to the lessons of Advent, then we will arrive at the manger with great hope, peace, and joy, looking down into the straw, and understanding all over again, “God so loved. God so loved. God so loves.”
Amen.
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