Why Advent?
Posted by BryanDec 3
Why Advent?
Depending on your background, you probably have one of three responses to Advent:
- Like me, you are very, very excited; or
- You are skeptical about the idea, maybe even dislike the practice; or
- You couldn’t care less about it.
Of course, celebrating the season of Advent is not in the Bible. I can’t give you chapter and verse explicitly stating you must celebrate it. Therefore, it necessarily falls within the realm of Christian liberty. You are absolutely free to celebrate or not celebrate. I want to give you three reasons (in no particularly order) why I celebrate the season of Advent. Also, I’d love to hear your reasons for celebrating Advent so feel free to add your comments below!
Reasons I celebrate Advent:
It joins our voices to countless others throughout history and all over the world. One of the big temptations that I have to fight off often is thinking that our generation has somehow arrived—as if we as a people and a culture were somehow smarter or just plain better than those who came before us. Maybe it’s the incredible rise of technology I’ve seen in my lifetime, or the widespread availability of attaining knowledge, that makes me think this. Either way, Advent allows me to refocus those thoughts, and realize that this world in general and the Kingdom of God in particular is far bigger than just myself. When I celebrate Advent, I am joining my voice with the voices of all those who came before me and all those around the world presently in voicing our praise to the only one who could save us. It reminds me that we are where we are today because of the shoulders of the giants we stood on. It reminds me that expressions of anticipation sound beautiful in the languages and cultures around the world down through the ages. In fact, the entire liturgical calendar is a good reminder of this. It is selfish and unchristian to believe we have somehow “made it” and succeeded where everyone else has failed. Instead, we must recognize that we are one more stage that exists in the unfolding of God’s story, and that our place in that story is no more, but also certainly not less, glorious than those who came before or those who will follow after.
It tears down my idol of materialism. Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t buy presents, and I’m not going to tell you how much you should or shouldn’t spend. But if this season captures our imaginations and turns them towards Jesus, to see his birth (Phil 2:5-11, to be born as one of us is equal to humiliation, and to be like a slave) and death on our behalf, then it will transform how we think about these issues as well. Do our actions during this season reflect the gospel message? If not, what message are we sending to unbelieving friends and family if all we do is crave more stuff, or are stressed out the entire holiday? What about the amount of debt some of us dig ourselves into? The Advent season helps us remember the real reason for celebration and helps us think through how the Gospel message can transform our lives and the lives of those around us—even in something we wouldn’t normally think about, like spending. I am a consumer. As much as I hate it, I like stuff. I’m never satisfied where I am with what I have. Advent reminds me just how upside-down I have my priorities. We are blessed, ultimately, to be a blessing, not for our own gain. Jesus had a lot to say about issues of money and treasure, and their reflection of our hearts.
It helps unite the Biblical story. Jesus taught, and his disciples modeled in their writings, that all of the Old Testament pointed to him and his work on the cross. At the center of history (theologically, not temporally) we find a baby laying in a manger, born to an unwed mom who was promised to marry a blue-collar craftsman. This is an unusual spotlight, but here we find the hope and anticipation of God’s chosen people: The Messiah who was to come and fix all things. Like the Old Testament believers, we find ourselves inserted in their position during Advent—now we, as God’s people, yearn for the coming Messiah, to set all things right and to usher in shalom and renewal. Their cry for justice and mercy, relief and exodus from exile, becomes our cry. What we want, as they wanted, is nothing short of Eden: an unbroken relationship with the divine in paradise. We all want the restoration of how things should be. That is the promise of Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 21. Until the Messiah comes, however, we have a holy dissatisfaction (to paraphrase Paul Tripp). Thankful for the grace shown to us, we yearn for complete redemption (cf. Romans 8:18-27, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10). Jesus is returning, not as an (apparently) bastard child, but as a reigning King, on the back of his war-horse to destroy Satan, sin, and death and give shalom to us and all of creation! This is the anticipation of Advent!
For more information, you can check out the series on Advent found on theresurgence.com.
I also recommend reading my friend Alicia’s article on Why Advent? Part 1—Historicity.
2 comments
Comment by Alicia on December 3, 2009 at 7:21 am
Parallel to your reason #1, I celebrate Advent because I am anti-American hyper-individualism. The vast majority of the Church through the ages has seen fit to participate in the primary seasons and feast days of the Church Year (which are primarily ordered around the life of Christ), with temporary minorities breaking with the tradition. I participate in Advent because I defer to the wisdom of the generations before me, who saw the Church Year as edifying and wholesome to the life of the Christian community and the life of the individual.
#2. I participate in Advent, as all the major season and feast days of the Church Year, because human beings must organize time around something. The Romans organized it around the decrees of Caesar. Americans organize it around the State (Mighty to Save), with its decrees defining holidays and feast days. Christ entered time to redeem time, and so Christians ought to organize time around Him. The feasts and seasons universally observed by the Church are a way of keeping time by the life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ, the Lord of Time. The way we keep time tunes our minds, bodies, and hearts to what is important, to Who holds time’s key. The Church Year creates a rhythm of time that attunes us to Christ, the Lord of history. (This is not to say we ignore the State calendar. As a practical matter, that would be impossible. But liturgical time becomes dominant.)
#3. This is probably just an extension of #2, but Advent season, as part of the Church Year, reminds us that how we mark time is a liturgical event. All time is liturgical time. God gave sun, moon, and stars “to mark seasons and days and years.” This is a liturgical reference. Our marking of time is always liturgical–that is, it is a ritual that informs worship. We will ultimately organize time around that which we believe controls time. The Church Year, including Advent, recognizes that time is liturgical, and liturgical (Christian) time is primary.
#4. Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation. You can’t really be ready for any feast (Christmas especially) if you haven’t prepared and anticipated properly. Also, lack of proper anticipation made some people miss the Messiah the first time, while proper anticipation made people like Simeon, Anna, and Mary fit to see Messiah. We do well to cultivate proper anticipation like them, lest we be found lacking when He comes.
#5. Advent (and Christmas more so) is the season of stuff. It is a time focusing on Christ’s great act of materialism: the Incarnation. Advent and Christmas are the perfect cure for Gnosticism, for they revel in the fact that Christ became flesh. They remind us that God made stuff, and He likes it. God is a materialist, nowhere more so than in the Incarnation. He’s preparing a feast for His people at history’s consummation, and there’s going to be a lot of stuff–wine, bread, cheese, fruit, spices…the smells, sights, sounds, and textures will delight and overwhelm. God loves stuff, and Christ came to redeem the material creation. Advent is about that glorious fact. It is about our celebrating Christ’s enfleshment and redemption of stuff, and our longing for His work to be completed. We are reminded to rejoice in the stuff God gives us, give thanks, and be generous, as James exhorted the rich.
And of course there are many more reasons…
Comment by Bryan on December 3, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Excellent thoughts and reasons, Alicia, all of which I agree with and share.
I particularly like your point #5, which I probably should have included as a balance to my 3rd point. The New Creation will be filled with redeemed material–both God’s creation and our cultural output.