Waiting for Advent

W AITING FOR A DVENT Advent is the most known of the liturgical seasons in and outside the church. Whether you are high church or low church Advent finds a place in your home. It seems to be the the one liturgical season that most everyone is drawn to. But why? What about this season is so special and powerful? In this paper I will give a brief history and theology of Advent and then some historical practices that have arisen from Advent theology. History The word “advent” means coming or arrival. The whole focus of Advent is Christmas and the arrival of the Messiah. This is true both historically and theologically. Advent was introduced by the church in the sixth century to specifically be a season of preparation for the feast of Christmas/Epiphany.1 The church felt that a fasting season was fiHing to lead into the season of Christmas/Epiphany because baptisms were In the early church Christmas and Epiphany were much more closely linked. Even today the two feast days are connected, but in the early church both feast days focused on the birth and baptism of Jesus instead of each day focusing on only one or the other of these themes. 1 regularly performed on Epiphany. Since Epiphany celebrates the baptism of Christ the church would often hold adult convert baptisms on this day. In the early church a preparatory season of fasting was a required. Thus it made sense for Advent to be a fasting season. Today Advent is often not viewed as a fasting season, this is not by accident. Even in the early church Advent was presented as a lesser fast in comparison to Lent. The Advent fast, although it changed in length a number of times, ultimately is shorter than the Lenten fast. The Advent fast is generally weaker in intensity as well. For these reasons Advent has often be presented as a non-fasting season, but this is simply not true. What is true is that Advent was a season designed to be preparatory, it was created as a means to another season, not an end. Advent is made for Christmas, it was made for baptism, it was made to usher in the Messiah. Today Advent is roughly four weeks long, beginning four Sundays before Christmas. This means the beginning date changes slightly. The season is a fasting season that is meant to prepare the Christian for the coming Lord Jesus. Theology Advent is a season about anticipating arrival and thus it is also about waiting. Advent is a season that trains the Christian how to wait well. It is a preparatory season for the celebration of the birth of Christ. Thus it is a season of anticipation for the coming of the Messiah, but Advent is not simply an anticipation of the memorial feast of Christmas. In the season of Advent the Christian reflects upon three comings of Christ. His first coming in the flesh, his weekly coming in the word and eucharist and, his future second coming when he comes again in glory. Advent reflects on all three of these arrivals of Christ. The first coming of Christ is captured in the liturgical movement of Advent. As a church we prepare for the birth of Christ. Obviously Christ has already been born, but as a liturgical act we enter into the story of waiting for the coming Messiah. In Advent the church creates a sense of anticipation through fasting and longing prayer to, in a small way, experience the anticipation that Israel would have felt in waiting for her Messiah. Advent is also a time to contemplate the coming of Christ each Sunday in the word and eucharist. The word and eucharist are a unique means by which we encounter the risen lord. Each are special in its own way. In the word we hear the words of God spoken to his people. In the eucharist we take in God into our own bodies and receive him. In both of these, Christ enters into our lives in the present. Advent is the season in which we focus on the fact that each Sunday Christ comes to his church. Finally Advent is when the church reflects upon the second coming of Christ. The very first lectionary reading of Advent (which is also the very first lectionary reading of the year) is about the second coming of Christ. We enter into the liturgical movement of Advent looking back to the first coming of Christ to train the church to wait well for his second coming. Advent looks at the three comings of Christ which can be mapped onto the past, present and future. We liturgically look back to the first coming of Christ to celebrate the miracle of the incarnation and the good work that came of Christ’s time on earth. Living into the anticipation of the first coming trains us to wait well for his second coming. And the focus on the present coming of Christ in word and sacrament highlights the means by which we are able to become people who wait well. For Advent is ultimately about preparing ourselves for Christ. Whether that be preparing for the feast of his birth or for Sunday eucharist or for when our lord returns once and for all, Advent prepares us for the coming of Christ. Practices There are many wonderful Advent practices that are fun and facilitate in training the Christian to wait well. Here I will highlight only three of the many traditions, these being: the Advent themes, O Antiphons and, the Jesse Tree. Advent Themes. As mentioned above, Advent always begins four Sundays before Christmas, which means there are four Sundays in Advent. Traditionally each Sunday has a specific theme, which the scripture readings will follow. The themes, in order, are: hope, peace, joy and love. The four themes of Advent are meant to highlight virtues that will further enable one to wait well. The first Sunday (the Sunday focused on the second coming) is about hope. As the church looks to the second coming of Christ when he will make all things right, we are able to hope for that good day. After hope there is peace, learning to wait in peace is necessary for any season of long-suffering. Then joy, there is a way to wait joyfully, this Sunday focuses on themes of joyful waiting. The final Sunday focuses on love, for nothing can be done well without love. These four themes shape the contours of the Advent season preparing the church of God in her joyful anticipation of the coming king. O Antiphons. The O Antiphons are a series of songs that are assigned to the final days of Advent. There are seven O Antiphons, the first one is to be sung on December 17th beginning the countdown to December 23rd. There are two important things to note about these antiphons. First they are called the “O Antiphons” because they are meant to express a sense of longing. The way we say “Oh” when we feel a deep desire of our heart is the O in the O Antiphons. These songs are meant to give voice and to build further anticipation for the coming of the Messiah. Second, each antiphon highlights a different title of Christ. The antiphons are named as follows: O Sapientia—Wisdom O Adonai— Lord O Redix Jesse— Root of Jesse O Clavis David— Key of David O Oriens— Dawn of the East O Rex Gentium—King of the Nations O Emmanuel—God With Us These titles all speak to aspects of Christ. He is the wisdom of God, our Lord, the Root of Jesse, the Key bearer of David’s kingdom, the shining dawn, the king of Jew and Gentile alike and God himself. Singing these songs helps the church grow in anticipation of Christmas and declare the wonders of our Lord. One last note on the O Antiphons, the song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is based on the O Antiphons. Jesse Tree. A Jesse Tree is a devotional guide that walks you through the family line of Jesus. Its name comes from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. Isaiah, prophesying about Jesus, said that from the stump of Jesse the new King would be born.2 For each day of Advent there is a reading and corresponding image representing the ancestor of Jesus who has been highlighted in the passage. Each day you will read the passage and then, if you want, put the image on your Jesse Tree. The tree itself can be anything from a paper cut-out to a real tree. The point is, as you get closer to Christmas you can see your tree fill up with images of the lineage leading up to Christ. Reading through the stories of the genealogy of Christ is a gift in two ways. First, you get to walk through the story of God’s family, kind of like a highlight reel of the 2 See Isaiah 11.1. story of salvation. Second, it builds up the tension of waiting. You must wait with all the members of Jesse’s house for the faithful day when the Messiah will come. One last comment: you may notice that not all the people in a Jesse Tree devotional are biologically related to Jesus. To this I echo the words of Paul, a true son of Abraham is not defined by blood, but by faith. Every man and woman in this Jesse Tree are truly a part of Jesse’s house because they all truly have faith in Christ Jesus. Advent is a wonderful time of year when the church is led in a deep reflection on the fact that Christ has come, comes now into our own lives and will come again to make all things new. Live into Advent and learn how to wait well for the king who of glory who will come again.