Now before you think this is my “bah humbug” article, let’s try to stay focused on the Season of Advent. Let’s just review where this season came from and what Advent is all about. From the Latin ‘adventus,’ Advent derives its meaning from the concept of “a coming” - namely the coming of the Christ. You will not find anything about Advent per se in Holy Scripture. The first Sunday of Advent is the nearest to St. Andrew’s day and it marks to the beginning of the ecclesiastical (church) calendar. The liturgical year was greatly affected with changes following the establishment of Christianity and the influx of partly converted from paganism. The feast of Christmas and Epiphany developed as a means to oppose or Christianize pagan festivals related to the winter solstice. Yes, we Christians did use and transfer some symbols from our ancestors, but again we used them to instruct and convert lives. For example, the birthday of the Unconquerable Sun (Saturn), the dies natalis Solis Invicti, was celebrated in Rome beginning from December 21 and lasted about a week. Probably by A.D. 336, Christians had appropriated December 25 as the day to celebrate the Incarnation. The first clear reference to the season in the western Church came in the late 6th century. 1

So why set aside a specific period of time in the Church calendar for pondering the coming of Christ? Perhaps our faith ancestors felt we needed a time to help us stay focused or refocus on our lives as Christians. It was also a means to instruct the faithful in the stories that are foundational to our faith. These stories instruct us today. We gain knowledge of the love our Creator has for us. The stories help us remember what we do care so deeply about.

So, Advent is a time of waiting and a time of preparation – not just for Christmas but for the Second Coming of Christ. Remember we say every Sunday, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” The first two statements are fact. Now we wait for the Second coming. This is a core tenet of our faith. We care about this. We receive comfort and joy as we wait and while we wait we are to “Stay alert!”

Do you remember an ad last year for a beaded handbag costing thousands of dollars? The model in the ad had her eyes closed looking beautiful but comatose. The words “Comfort and Joy” blazed across the page. I think we need to keep our eyes open during this Season of Advent as we prepare to sing of comfort and joy this year. Let us look for them where they may be found. Advent is a season to refocus and renew what we care about.

1 Hatchett, Marion. Commentary on the American Prayer Book. p. 39.