Adventide

Photo by KaLisa Veer - Unsplash.com
 

It's the beginning of Advent and a new church year.

The season of Advent is about the coming of the Savior.  The first coming was in Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was born in a stable.  The second coming is His return at the end of time.

I recall Advent memories from my time as a student at St. Paul Lutheran Elementary School.  There was an Advent calendar in the classroom with special significance each day, although most of us used it as a countdown to Christmas.

It was also a time when our memory work focused on recitations and hymns we would sing during the huge Christmas Eve service.  

Virtually all the kids from kindergarten through eighth grade would march into a gym packed with family, friends, and church members to take part. Other than a brief message from the pastor and hymns sung by everybody, the worship was led by the kids. After that service, we returned to classrooms where we picked up brown paper bags stuffed with peanuts and other assorted nuts, an orange or two, and candy.

When our kids were little, we hung an Advent calendar which revealed a new story every day as we counted down the days to Christmas.

The four weeks of Advent and the candles commemorating them stand for Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

Hope is from the prophecy we read in the Old Testament telling about the Savior coming to earth where He would fulfill the law and pay the price demanded for the sins of all people. It also looks forward to Jesus' return for the Judgement and to take His people to heaven.

Peace is an illusive quality.  It's been that way since the advent of sin in the Garden.  We may have peaceful moments interrupting daily chaos, hardship, and temptation in society.  Peace is only delivered by our Savior and is one thing we can confidently hope to experience.

Joy is more than happiness, in my mind I'd define it as a state of being.  Needless to say, there are few who can claim to be in a state of joy.  It's not possible without the Joy-giver.

Love is a gift from God because God is Love.  That love is shown by the gift of His son, Jesus, to earth as a baby, who lived our human experience without sin, took that sin to the cross on Calvary, shedding his blood to pay for our sin.  Than to demonstrate His power over sin, death, and the devil, He rose from the dead, setting us free.

That's why Christians celebrate this season, give presents to the people we love as we follow the demonstration of the greatest Gift-giver.

Happy Advent. Merry Christmas.