I have been given the opportunity to write a reflection each
week of Advent for a church and it has given me a greater appreciation and
understanding of a season that I have celebrated since my childhood. The word Advent comes from the Latin word
meaning ‘coming’. The Advent season
gives us a chance to celebrate the coming of Christ through his birth as well
as to prepare ourselves for His second coming.
Advent is composed of the four Sundays prior to Christmas
and ends at sundown on Christmas Eve.
For many of us, as children we remember at home and church an advent
wreath composed of three purple and one pink candle. Each week as we gathered for dinner we would
light a specific candle. As a kid, the
Advent wreath was like the Christmas calendar that served as a countdown until
that wonderful day of gifts– you know Christmas!
Well, as I have had the chance to write about each week and
the scripture readings for that week. I
have grown in my appreciation of Advent and anticipation for Christ. I look at the advent wreath and instead of a
tradition, I see purple candles representing our Kings royalty, a pink candle
representing the joy we have, an evergreen wreath representing life, and
finally the flames that represent our burning desire for Christ. Think about the advent candles; the first
Sunday we light only one candle and it burns by itself signifying our waiting
and anticipation for our Lord. Then each
week, we light one more candle and by the end four candles are burning and
hopefully this represents also our desire on the inside that we have grown and intensified
in our burning desire we have for our Lords coming. Of course, we are not only to anticipate and
rejoice in our Lord’s coming once a year but I find for me it is good to have a
reminder each year and it helps prepare me for the months that lay ahead.
God is joy and as the family of God He calls us and gives us
joy. We give gifts to family and friends
because we love them and want to bring them joy. Well God has a gift for each of us this
Christmas and it will not be a toy or a new outfit that will be opened with
delight and then forgotten about in 6-months.
God’s gift is timeless and is His son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to us as a gift of our Father’s mercy;
He does not desire a life and death of a sinner for us but desires us to be
converted and to live in peace and joy here and forever in heaven with Him.
In Advent we get to read about the preparations made for
Christ from the perspective of Joseph (his earthly father), Mary (his mother),
and John the Baptist (his cousin). The
forth Sunday we read about John leaping in his mothers room upon hearing Mary’s
greeting and knowing that Christ was in his midst (inside of Mary’s womb). Mary was the first Tabernacle to carry Christ
and she brought Christ to all whom she came in contact with. 2,000 years later, we too are tabernacles and
are called by our Baptism to bring Christ to others. Do others leap with joy when we greet
them? Can others feel the presence of Christ
when we enter a room? This should be our
goal, not only during Advent but all through the year. That through our actions and speech, others
will know Christ is among us. It is not
through our own confidence or greatness that others will know Christ is among
us but our willingness to be his servant and allow Him to lead us in all of our
life. May we proclaim and give our lives
as readily as Mary, as she proclaimed, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
