Advent: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Three Advent candles and the Christ candle in an Advent wreath 
Image courtesy of Gualberto107 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Christmas Season has become a rich time for me theologically over the past two decades, and this is due to my increasing awareness of the significance of the Season of Advent in my life and in the life of congregations in which I have ministered. Advent is theologically rich. It sets the table for the festive Christmas banquet. I have experienced how following the course of Advent prepares my heart for the joy of celebrating Jesus' birth at Christmas. The reading of Advent Scripture texts and the singing of Advent hymns have made me more aware of the strong connection between Jesus' birth and His death on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. I often point out to the people that behind the Manger is the Cross of Christ. 

My favourite Advent hymn is O come, O come, Emmanuel. In the first verse we sing of 'captive Israel' crying out to the Lord God to ransom her from 'lonely exile.' In verse three God's people yearn that the 'rod of Jesse' would come and save them from 'Satan's tyranny' and the 'depths of hell.' They call upon God to 'give them victory o'er the grave.' In the fourth verse God's people look to God to 'disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight.' In contrast to the dreadful smack of reality that these verses convey, there sounds the hopeful and resounding chorus: 'rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.' We at St Fergus Parish Church sang this for the four Sundays of Advent, preparing our hearts for the birth of Emmanuel, God with us.

The lighting of the Advent candles Sunday by Sunday is a visual way to enrich our worship service at the church. Different children were excited to have an opportunity to light a candle. There was only one candle on the first Sunday of Advent, but then we lit one more candle each of the following three Sundays of Advent. I sense that it meant a lot to the adults, too, to see the different candles lit and hear what each meant. The first candle is the Candle of Hope, or the Candle of Prophecy. Before Jesus was born, God's people looked to God and God's Promise that God would send the Messiah. Jesus is that long-promised Messiah. The second candle is the Candle of Preparation. God promised that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Then there is the third candle, the Candle of Joy. At that first Christmas long ago, choirs of angels sang joyfully to the shepherds and to the world that Jesus, the Messiah, was born. On the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Candle of Love proclaims that in love, God sent God's only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins. We started the Christmas Eve service with a young couple with two children lighting the four Advent candles. At the end of the service, a couple with a baby lit the fifth candle, the Christ Candle. It proclaims that Jesus is the Light of the World. 

I enjoyed preaching through the Advent Season. As I mentioned above, the season is theologically rich. The gospel readings for the new Christian year (Year A began the first Sunday in Advent) are selected from the Gospel of Matthew. Advent is a wonderful time to be nurtured by the great themes of biblical faith. During the course of Advent we considered the Second Coming of Christ as well as His First Coming. We looked at John the Baptist and God's call to us to repent from our sins. We reviewed the Old Testament prophecies that looked forward to Jesus the Messiah. These Scripture readings shape our faith and our lives. Even though I follow the Gospel readings of the lectionary Sunday by Sunday, I often tweak them in order to give the people of St Fergus Parish Church a nourishing meal of reflection on God's Word. I had fun leading worship and preaching during this past season of Advent. Hopefully I was able to provide nutritious home-cooked meals from ancient redeeming recipes from the Scriptures. Nearly three weeks after Christmas, I am still feasting on the leftovers from Advent and Christmas, 2013. May it be so for you, too. 

Blessings to you and yours,