Advent Reflections #1

Greetings everyone! It has been a little while since my last posting, I thought that I would write about what I shared in Church about it being the first Sunday of Advent. Simply put, Advent is the time of year, that the Christian church marks as the "new year". It is the time of new beginnings. Yes it is also marking the coming of Christmas, but it is also more than that. It is a time of reflection, examination, expectation, anticipation and repentance. A time of preparing a place for Christ in our hearts. So much more than "counting down the days 'til Christmas".

As someone who has spent the last twenty-some years in a Charismatic setting for my church experience, it has been interesting to say the least, that I now find myself serving as Chaplain at a retirement community. This community is owned by a secular company, but the owners believe in the spiritual aspect of life being as important as the physical and emotional, so hence full-time Chaplains, but I digress. Again, coming from the Charismatic realm into the Ecumenical has been an interesting journey. Part of my job description here is that I must accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of the residents, so I have had to take a more liturgical look at the way I perceive church. The predominate denominational background here is; Lutheran followed by Roman Catholic and then Methodist, (an interesting microcosm of the area itself by the way). Because of my recent, (20+ years), church experience I think that I bring a slightly different perspective to the table when it comes to these liturgical happenings. I know, I know I can hear some of you saying right now, "That stuff is just empty tradition of men" or "That just waters down the Gospel" etc., etc. They would have been my exact words just a few years ago, but all I can say now is, as a friend used to put it, "don't throw the baby out with the bath water".

What is really interesting is that none of this is what I shared at church about Advent, that is yet to come.
Maybe we can dialogue more about this at a later time, I would love to hear from you about this.


Anyway, the first Sunday of Advent the Revised Common Lectionary usually calls for a Scripture passage from the Gospels, (Luke 21:25-37), that at first glance, has nothing to do with the Christmas story. Purposefully we are drawn to look for it's message and so we enter the Advent mystery.
Initially we are struck by the apparent oddity that at the time we are preparing for celebrating His arrival that first we are looking at His return. I reflect that when Jesus was born in that manger, the people had been looking, praying and anticipating their Messiah to come and rescue them, redeem them from their physical bondage. However they waited with "baited breath" as it were, they were desperate for their Messiah to show up. In being struck by the oddity of the passage that calls for His return, I wondered how many of us now are waiting for His return with the same need.

The accepted definition of the word "advent" is; arrival or appearing. So are we now waiting for His advent or are we caught up in something else. The Advent season is a time of reflection and examination, of where you stand in your relationship with the Christ. It is also a time of preparation for His coming to the world, to you again, anew. What are you anticipating for the Christmas holiday?

In the Bible the Church is called the bride of Christ. We are betrothed to our beloved Christ. To the lady readers I would ask; "when you were awaiting your "betrothed", to come for a date, what was your frame of mind as you waited? Did you wait with expectation and excitement, anticipating your time with him. Well how are we the "bride" waiting?
Prepare ye the way of the Lord and wait for Him.
Come Lord Jesus!