As we begin another church year with the season of Advent, our hearts are filled with hope and joy.  The word “Advent,” as we know, means “coming.”  Christ, the Savior of all people, once came to this world to live, die and rise again.  Christ still comes into the hearts of his believers today through Word and sacraments.  Christ will come again in all his heavenly glory to judge the living and the dead.

Christ came.  God promised to send a Savior to Adam and Eve immediately after they fell into sin.  God renewed this promise again and again.  At first God spoke directly to men like Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Later on God spoke through the inspired words of his chose prophets – Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others whose words are recorded for us in the Holy Scriptures.  God kept his word.  Christ came as he was promised.  He came from the descendants of David.  He came as an infant born of a virgin mother at Bethlehem.  He came in the flesh in order to keep God’s law perfectly as a substitute for sinful man, and then to offer up himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all people.  All these things happened according to God’s promises as recorded in the Old Testament.

Christ’s coming to this earth was preceded by the sending of a messenger.  This messenger was also promised by the prophets.  This messenger was John the Baptist, who proclaimed God’s message of repentance and forgiveness of sins in the wilderness around the Jordan River.

Christ comes to us today.  He comes through the preaching of his Word of truth.  This Word is proclaimed by God’s faithful messengers, his pastors and teachers.  He comes through the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper), through which the Holy Spirit offers and gives the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.  He comes to assure us that all who by faith accept his gift of salvation can live as God’s children now and forever.

Christ is coming again.  He is coming in power and great glory.  This world will pass away.  All people will appear with soul and body before him.  He will judge all nations.  Unbelievers will suffer eternal punishment in hell.  Believers will receive and enjoy the gift of eternal life with God in heaven.

Advent season reminds us of these truths, wherein lies our hope, joy and salvation.

What does Advent look like and when does it start?

Stir us up, O Lord, to make ready for your only begotten Son. May we be able to serve you with purity of soul through the coming of him who lives and reigns.  Advent Prayer

Advent. Adventus. Ecce advenit Dominator Dominus. Behold, the Lord, the Ruler, is come.

Reaching back two millennia to the birth of the Christ child, and forward to his reign on earth, the tradition of Advent is a threefold celebration of the birth of Jesus, his eventual second coming to earth, and his continued presence in our lives here and now. God in our past, God in our future, God in our present.

Advent.

It started with people going hungry to purify themselves and prepare themselves for holy living. A fast, we call it, and such a fast was ordered by the Council of Saragossa in A.D. 381. For three weeks before Epiphany (a feast in January celebrating the divine revelation of Jesus to the gentile Magi), the people were to prepare themselves by fasting and praying. The tradition spread to France in 581 by decree of the Council of Macon, and to Rome and beyond thereafter. Gregory the First refined the season to its present form in about 600 when he declared that it should start the fourth Sunday before Christmas.

Fasting is no longer a part of Advent in most homes and churches (though it wouldn’t be a bad idea). For us, Advent means taking time each day, for the three or four weeks before Christmas, to center our thoughts on the Truth Incarnate lying in a feeding trough in Bethlehem. It’s a time of worship, a time of reflection, a time of focus, and a time of family communion. In the midst of December’s commotion and stress, Advent is a few moments to stop, catch your breath, and renew your strength from the only One who can provide true strength.

This Advent, spend time in God’s word of promise, remind one another of these good promises and God’s work in our past, future and present. Reflect on His goodness in the Messiah and Savior, and enjoy the sweet communion with loved ones who are also blessed by His presence.

Advent. Adventus. Ecce advenit Dominator Dominus. Behold, the Lord, the Ruler, is come. May God richly bless you and your family as you prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ!