Advent: Came and Coming

I suppose some may be wondering what Advent is and what it has to do with Christianity. On the other hand, I suppose some Christians might wonder at such a question being asked. So I guess answering that question would be a good starting point.

Many more traditional, theologically conservative, Christian churches (e.g. Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican/Episcopalian) follow a liturgical or church calendar that is organized around certain religious holidays (i.e., Holy Days). For Catholics, there are quite a few such holidays and festivals; among Protestants, the three most commonly celebrated are Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. This calendar goes further than just observing the several holidays, however. It can include a multi-year schedule of readings from the Bible which, if followed through the years in worship services, results in the congregation hearing much of the Bible read aloud. Sermon texts or themes also often come from the readings for a particular Sunday or season.

Also part of the calendar, relevant to the topic at hand, are certain multi-week seasons of preparation for celebrating a coming holiday. The best known, perhaps, such season of preparation would be Lent, which anticipates Good Friday and Easter (the death and resurrection of Jesus). Advent is the season of preparation that anticipates Christmas.

“Advent” means a coming or an arrival. One coming looked forward to in the season of Advent is Christmas, the celebration of the first coming, the birth, of Jesus. Thus, many songs and sermons during Advent speak of prophecies that promised Jesus' coming – Who He was (is) and what He would do. In my experience, this is the theme that is most common and gets the greatest focus. But Advent also looks toward another coming, the second coming of Jesus, which will bring the end of the current world system, the Final Judgment, and one's eternal fate.

If this latter theme seems incongruous, remember that Advent is a season of preparation. Christians are preparing their hearts to celebrate and give thanks for the birth, God's Gift, of Jesus. Christians are also looking forward to, and preparing their hearts for, Jesus' Second Coming, when believers will enter into an eternity with Jesus, seeing Jesus face to face. So for Christians, Advent is a time of serious joy.