Advent, like Lent, is a major season in the life of the church. Interestingly, they both celebrate very similar things: The return of Jesus and his power to overcome death, separation, and all things which keep humans and God apart.
The word Advent, as I’ve written before, comes from the Latin “adventus” which means “coming.” It remembers the coming of God in Jesus Christ at his birth. But it most importantly looks forward with patient expectation to the return, or second coming, of Christ into the
world.
The exact beginnings of the celebration of Advent as a major church holiday are completely unknown. It likely began before the fourth century when we have clear written evidence that Advent was being celebrated (albeit differently than we are today). By the sixth century Pope Gregory I established most clearly what we today understand to be Advent. However, the exact date and the meanings associated with its beginning are unknown to us.
Some of the most well-known traditions of Advent, like the lighting of candles on a wreath, are reasonably “modern” ideas. The notion for the Advent wreath comes from 1839 Germany where Rev. Johann Hinrich Wichern created a wreath with 19 small candles and four large candles for children to light daily (small candles) and on Sundays (large candles) to help them patiently look forward to the celebration of Christmas.
The themes for each week of Advent (Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love) don’t have a clear start date as to when they appear. I can say that I remember this tradition throughout my life but I’m sure it well predates me. As I researched these themes, I found that there a ton of themes surrounding the candles and words or ideas associated with them. So, simply, the ideas of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love are one among many.
This year, as part of our Advent celebration, I have selected four new words which I found to be thematic in the Scripture lessons. We’ll focus our worship around these themes (as well as the tried and true ones we all know). These themes are:
- Week 1: Isaiah 64:1-9; I Corinthians 1:3-9 – “Waiting”
- Week 2: Isaiah 40: 1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-15a – “Patience”
- Week 3: Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11; I Thessalonians 5:16-24 – “Doing”
- Week 4: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Galatians 3:23-4:7; Matthew 1:18-25 – “Clarity”
- Christmas Eve: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96: 1-13; Titus 2: 11-14 – “Dawning”
As we travel with the biblical authors through this season of waiting, watching, hoping, praying, and anticipation, I hope that these key theme words will become a focus for your prayer and worship all throughout this season. Hopefully it will help you to rethink the ideas and power of watchful waiting and what it means that our God took on flesh in Jesus Christ and was born among us and that he will come again.