Every year without fail, Advent arrives with a tinge of surprise. No sooner have we celebrated Fall Festival and gathered with our families over a Thanksgiving meal than we suddenly are lighting candles and singing Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus. Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas, which often (including this year) is the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but while it comes suddenly, its suddenness is necessary. Advent arrives with a tinge of surprise so that Christmas doesn’t—it is a season of confession, preparation, and anticipation of the coming Christ, intentionally setting our hearts and minds in a space of waiting, just as the people of the Old Testament longed for a Savior.
Though Advent typically begins in November or December (the end of our calendar year), it actually serves as the start of the Christian year. The first half of the Christian year centers around the life of Jesus—from His birth to ascension, and all seasons in between (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter). The second half of the Christian year centers around the life of the Church in Pentecost, and circles all the way back around to the first Sunday of Advent. The cyclical nature of Advent reminds us that the hope, peace, joy, and love of Advent never ends, and that Christ is always coming. And Christ is not just coming as a baby in Bethlehem, but also as the Lord of our lives and as the King of kings who will come again. In this way, Advent leans into the “already, not yet” of the Christian faith. Christ already became flesh, dwelt among us, died on the cross, and rose on the third day. Advent is about looking back and putting ourselves in the shoes of those who waited for the birth of Jesus. But Advent is also about looking forward to the not yet. Christ has come, Christ is coming, Christ will come again. We get to experience this dynamic picture of Christ at Advent—what else can we do but worship Him?
This year, our Advent theme is How Can This Be? How can it be that the fullness of God became an infant in a humble manger? How can it be that holiness and lowliness met underneath the starry sky? How can it be that we have been invited to participate in this wondrous story of God’s love for us? When you sing carols you have sung for years, when you see the same four candles lit, and when you hear the same passages recited, don’t let the repetition of the season cause you to lose your sense of awe and wonder. The fact that Advent returns at the same time every year should compel us to wonder even more about how God might be calling us through this bewildering story of salvation.
