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The Season of Advent is one the most ancient traditions of the Church. Advent means “coming.” It is the time of the year set aside for us to prepare for the coming of Christ in his various ways. We prepare for the celebration of his birth at Christmas. We prepare to receive God in the present through Spirit and Word. We prepare with hope for the the final coming of our Lord. During the season, we make space and take time to utilize symbols that evoke a sense of longing, hope and eternity: colors of royalty and penitence (blue and purple), the increasing light of candles overcoming the darkness, and an unbroken circle of evergreens shaped in a wreath. A true counter-cultural challenge, the season of Advent, calls us beyond frantic demands of December to a sense of spiritual expectation. Advent waiting is an active embodiment of watchfulness and reflective preparation for daily arrival of the Prince of Peace and his Kingdom in our midst.

The motifs of Advent shape our worship this season in a number of ways. Working with the theme of God's light overcoming darkness, we are lighting not just two altar candles, but an increasing number of candles, one for each day of Advent. Each week we process more candles into the darkness of the sanctuary. Accordingly, our services begin with the lights out, and the lights brought up slowly throughout the service. Each week of Advent, we are lighting a traditional Advent wreath, with its symbols of increasing light as we near the birth of Jesus, the light of the world; everlasting life shown in evergreen branches; and eternity shown in the circle of the wreath. We are also practicing preparation by making space and taking time during each of our worship services for individual reflection, meditation or some other uniquely embodied exercise during our Advent worship.

As the season of Advent shapes our worship this season, the season can also provide shape to your own life during this season. You are encouraged to make space and take time daily in your home and family life by adapting the corporate worship elements into your daily life. An Advent wreath, lit at the evening meal is an easy way to take time for reflection in your day. Taking a few extra minutes to light a candle and pray in the evening can be powerful symbol of hope in these hurried and dark times. Above all, as we make space and take time, we do so with the powerful conviction that the living God acts in the space and time, and by being watchful, we may be increasingly alert to the appearing of Christ who in new ways is always coming to us.

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