THE WONDER OF ADVENT

Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve.

Advent is one of the few Christian festivals that can be observed in the home as well as at church. In its association with Christmas, Advent is a natural time to involve children in activities at home that directly connect with worship at church. In the home an Advent wreath is often placed on the dining table and the candles lighted at meals, with Scripture readings preceding the lighting of the candles, especially on Sunday. A new candle is lighted each Sunday during the four weeks, and then the same candles are lighted each meal during the week. In this context, it provides the opportunity for family devotion and prayer together, and helps teach the Faith to children, especially if they are involved in reading the daily Scriptures. It is one of the few Christian festivals that can be celebrated in the home as well as at church.

It is a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, or preparation, of longing. There's a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by God's Chosen in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression.

Advent is a time, marked by prayer. Advent prayers are prayers of humble devotion and commitment, of submission, and for deliverance.

Many churches and families acknowledge the Advent with the Advent Wreath. It is a circular wreath with five candles...four around the wreath (usually three purple and one rose) and a white one in the center, which represents Christ. The wreath is symbolic and a vehicle to tell the Christmas story.

The circle of the wreath reminds us of God himself...he is never ending. The green of the wreath speaks of hope and the renewal of life. The candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world by the birth of His son.

The four outer candles represent the waiting period during the four Sundays of Advent...which symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.

On the first Sunday, the first purple candle (Hope) is lit. On the second Sunday, the first candle and second purple candle (Love) are lit. On the third Sunday, the first two candles and the third purple candle (Joy) are lit. On the fourth Sunday, all three purple candles and the rose (Peace) candle is lit. All candles plus the white Christ candle are traditionally lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

If our hope is only in our circumstance, we will always be disappointed. That's why we hope, not in circumstance, but God. He has continually revealed Himself to be a God above all gods. The best example: His crucifixion and resurrection. He is our Hope.

Those who have suffered and still hope understand far more about God and about life than those who have not. Maybe that is what hope is about: a way to live, not just to survive, but to live authentically amidst all the problems of life with a Faith that continues to see possibility when there is no present evidence of it, just because God is God. That is also the wonder of Advent.

~Vada for...

Vada and Joe