Advent--Preparing for CHRISTmas 2020

In the silence of a midwinter dusk, there is a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to listen. You are aware of the beating of your heart. The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment. --Frederick Buechner

 The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before ... What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon. --Jan L. Richardson

 We celebrate the First Advent to whet our appetites for the Second. We long for the next coming. --Max Lucado

 In the church liturgical calendar, Advent is a time of preparing ourselves for Jesus’ coming—both celebrating His first coming (Christmas) and looking forward to His future return with anticipation. We engage in practices of looking back in remembrance of God’s faithfulness to His people/us in the past and of looking ahead in expectation to His Kingdom to fully come, “on earth as it is in heaven.” Readings during this time include passages from the Old and New Testaments—ones that speak of Messianic prophecy, the story of the nativity, reflections on God’s lovingkindness, and praise for the Lord’s faithfulness. The season of Advent spans the four Sundays leading up to Christmas:  Advent 2020 starts on Sunday, November 29 and ends on Thursday, December 24.

 Many congregations and families will choose to celebrate and mark the weeks with an Advent wreath—an evergreen circle with five candles. The evergreen represents life; the circular shape stands for eternity; Advent Week 1: The Candle of Hope; Advent Week 2: The Candle of Peace; Advent Week 3: The Candle of Joy; Advent Week 4: The Candle of Love; Christmas Eve: The Christ Candle.

 “Advent is intended to be a season of fasting, much like Lent, and there are a variety of ways that this time of mourning works itself out in the season. Reflection on the violence and evil in the world causes us to cry out to God to make things right—to put death’s dark shadows to flight. Our exile in the present makes us look forward to our future Exodus. And our own sinfulness and need for grace lead us to pray for the Holy Spirit to renew his work in conforming us into the image of Christ.” Justin Holcomb

 In the bleak mid-winter

All creation groans,

For a world in darkness

Frozen like a stone

Light is breaking, in a stable for a throne

And He shall reign forevermore, forevermore

…Into our hopes, into our fears

The Savior of the world appears

The promise of eternal years

Christ, the Messiah!

And He shall reign Forevermore, forevermore

--From the song He Shall Reign Forevermore, Chris Tomlin / Matt Maher

Take a moment to prepare your heart for Christ’s coming. In what way can you “fast” from something in your life to make space for the Savior in this season?

Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and leaders in a diversity of fields for over 30 years. She has also been EquipConnectServe Director at her 1,200 member church since 1999.  Contact Shirley.

Photo © Shirley Giles Davis, All Rights Reserved.