Advent is a season of expectation and preparation, as the Church prepares to celebrate the coming (adventus) of Christ in his incarnation, and also looks ahead to his final advent as judge at the end of time. The readings and liturgies not only direct us toward Christ’s birth, they also challenge the modern reluctance to confront the theme of divine judgment:
Every eye shall now behold him
robed in dreadful majesty. (Charles Wesley)
The following article was written for the members of CrossWalk, a non-denominational church, to explain the basics of Advent. Many of us Anglicans grew up in different denominations and may have similar questions.
Q: What is Advent?
- In short, Advent is comprised of the four Sunday’s leading up to Christmas. It is a time to both reflect on the incarnation of Jesus, and also look ahead to his second coming.
- Advent also marks the beginning of the liturgical calendar for churches who follow liturgy. Liturgy is the prescribed readings that many churches follow for all worship experiences.
Q: Isn’t Advent for Catholics?
- Catholics observe Advent, but so do many other faith traditions. Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, and others from “high church” traditions typically participate in the season of Advent.
- Because Advent is a season to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus and anticipate his second coming, it is for all people who follow Jesus, not one particular faith tradition.
Q: Why are there so many scripture readings?
- The readings are intended to tell part of the story of Jesus. Leading up to Christmas, many passages sound bleak and sad. That’s because Jesus came to bring light into a dark world. So those bleak and sad passages help us understand the level of darkness Jesus came to destroy.
- The readings also help turn our attention forward to the day of Jesus’ second coming, when darkness will be destroyed once and for all.
Q: How are the scriptures chosen?
- Each faith tradition chooses or creates something called a lectionary to follow. Lectionaries are collections of readings established by the faith tradition’s leaders, usually several centuries ago. During Advent, lectionaries generally draw from one Old Testament passage (usually a prophet), one Gospel passage, one later New Testament passage, and one Psalm.
- At CrossWalk, we use the lectionary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (http://www.usccb.org/bible/liturgy/).
Q: What is the meaning behind the candles?
- A different candle is lit each of the four weeks of Advent, and a fifth candle is lit on Christmas Day. Three of the candles are either purple or blue (at CrossWalk we choose blue, just because). One candle is pink. And the final candle – The Christ Candle – is white. The candles are traditionally placed inside a wreath.
- The first candle – sometimes called The Prophecy Candle – represents HOPE and is blue.
- The second candle – sometimes called The Bethlehem Candle – represents LOVE and is blue.
- The third candle – sometimes called The Shepherd’s Candle – represents JOY and is pink.
- The fourth candle – sometimes called The Angel’s Candle – represents PEACE and is blue.
- The fifth candle – sometimes called The Christ Candle – represents JESUS and is white.
Q: What are the other readings for?
- Advent liturgy includes more than just readings from scripture. There is a reading called The Preface, and a reading called The Collect.
- The Preface is exactly what it sounds like – it is to be read before the scriptures.
- The Collect is like a prayer. It contains: an invocation, an acknowledgment of the divinity of God, a petition, an aspiration for certain results, and a pleading.
Q: Why don’t we just call it “Christmas?”
- Because Christmas and Advent are not the same. Advent focuses more on the need for incarnation, not just the fact of incarnation. Christmas is a celebration of God taking on flesh in the form of Jesus. Advent is an acknowledgment of the darkness that exists in our world, and our desperation for the light of Christ. Advent is the broader context for our Christmas celebrations.
