Since Advent comes before Christmas on December 25, there is an assumption that it simply is a lead-up to celebrating the day of Christ’s birth.
However, when Christians first observed Advent, they anticipated the return of Christ, not his birth. This changed in the Middle Ages when Advent became a time to remember and celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, even as the “traditional” approach to Advent remained.
“Advent spirituality is not a time to meditate on the actual birth of Christ. According to tradition, we ought not to sing Christmas carols until Christmas itself, for Advent is not a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the manger but a time to long for the coming of the Savior,” wrote Robert E. Webber in Ancient-Future Time.
Advent was originally a time of fasting and self-reflection too, CT executive editor Ted Olsen wrote.
To Vieira, Advent is a “penitential” season that affords believers a time for discipline and intentional repentance.
“A deep reflection on the liturgical tradition shows us that Advent embodies a tension of joining the enactment of the old covenant peoples’ expectation for redemption and the new covenant peoples’ expectation for the consummation that will come with the second coming of Christ,” he said.
Some traditional hymns and readings during the Advent season reflect a yearning for Christ’s return, says Margery.
“I think particularly of ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.’ One sings it generally as a sort of plea for Christ to be born, putting oneself in the place of the saints of Israel who longed for his coming. But I have the impression that it is echoing the final prayer of Revelation [22:20, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’].”
The eschatological longing that Advent encapsulates is a key component of the season that cannot be overlooked.
“Scripture’s prophecies of the Promised One often have layers of meaning and multiple fulfillments,” wrote CT print managing editor Kelli Trujillo in the introduction to CT’s 2022 Advent devotional.
“They frequently point toward a fulfillment in the prophet’s own time but also direct our gaze toward the Messiah and his first coming as well as the Second Advent we await.”
“To be in Advent is to dwell in the ‘already/not yet’ of the kingdom of God,” said Derœux.
“It allows us to remember the promises of the Lord and the extent to which he cares for us. The patience and preparation it took to give a Savior to humanity is breathtaking, and to be able to not only remember but to live this particular time [out] is a blessing.
“We could read the whole Old Testament and see an Advent, a dawn to a new beginning.”
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