1st Week of Advent Devotions: Monday, 12/04/06

In the last days, the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem will become the most important place on earth. People from all over the world will go there to worship.  Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Israel.  There he will teach us his ways, so that we may obey him.” For in those days the Lord's teaching and his word will go out from Jerusalem.  The Lord will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military training will come to an end.  Come, people of Israel, let us walk in the light of the Lord!   (Isaiah 2:1b-5 NLT)

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 As soon as Halloween is over, and sometimes even before, the commercial Christmas season arrives with a ROAR!  We begin hearing cheery carols on the radio and seeing glittery decorations in stores. Bright catalogues arrive in the mail, and colorful advertisements weigh down our newspapers. We begin thinking in little increments called “shopping days.” We hardly know where to begin because there is so much to do.  We need to do so much for so many during this season of giving.

Advent is the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas when we Christians begin our private preparation for Christmas and the Epiphany. Advent is easy to ignore because---Advent arrives with a whisper. It slips in quietly with no fanfare at all.  In order to hear Advent’s whisper, we need to step away from the ROAR of the holiday and listen with our hearts. We must seek quiet. Advent is anticipation. Advent is waiting, expectation, hope and a time of personal preparation for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Open yourself up to the waiting and let the spirit of Advent come to you. Advent, contrary to our commercialized Christmas is all about you.  Listen. Turn off your TV. Go outside to the quiet. Read your Bible. Come to church. Talk about Advent with your family.

Advent comes from the Latin word avenire (to come to). The message is -- God in Christ is coming. For those of us who have waited for a birth or waited for death of a friend or loved one, we know how hard waiting can be. The waiting for birth or death cannot be rushed, and the waiting for Christ’s birth is the same. We wait. We listen… to our hearts, to our thoughts, to our inward longings. We intentionally slow ourselves down so that we don’t get lost and overcome by the ROAR of Christmas. Pope Gregory I, the bishop of Rome who died in 604 set the Advent season at four Sundays in the sixth century. It remains so today. We usually have four weeks (three weeks this year) to contemplate and prepare our hearts. Don’t let another Christmas pass by without stopping to hear the whisper of Advent.

Lighting our advent wreath candles each day is a reminder to stop, slow down and contemplate. The tradition, like many, has pre-Christian origins and was originally a celebration of the return of the sun after winter solstice. The Advent wreath has four candles- one for each of the four Sundays in Advent.  The candles are purple to remind us to turn our hearts toward God. Some traditions use a pink candle for the third Sunday in Advent because this is Gaudete Sunday in the Roman Mass. The mass begins with the words “Gaudete in Domino simper”- Rejoice in the Lord Always! Pink is the color of rejoicing.  The circle that the candles are placed on is a reminder of the perfection and eternity of God. Evergreens circle the candles as well as a symbol of life.  Holly is sometimes used to symbolize Christ’s crown of thorns. Red berries remind us of his blood. Each week a new candle is lit. Some families also accompany the lighting of the candle with a short prayer. Some families add a red or white candle to the center of the wreath on Christmas Day to burn during the twelve days of Christmas.

Our wish to you is that you and your families will have a meaningful Advent this year that will bring us to Christmas with our hearts open and ready to receive Jesus into our lives.

Ann Calandro

 Oh God, rejoicing, we remember the birth of your Son

and the life he brought to us by his death and resurrection.

As the light from these candles shine upon us, may the blessings of Christ

also shine on us and brighten our path through the season of Advent.

May Christ our Savior bring light into the darkness of our world.

May we be granted the simple gift of taking time,

being still and listening for the whisper of his coming.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.