Now that the massive feast that typifies the Thanksgiving holiday has been reduced to a pile of leftovers in our refrigerators (for me, something else to be thankful for, as I look as forward to the post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches as I do the meal itself!) and we have all awakened from our tryptophan-induced food comas, we begin the frantic sprint to Christmas. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and relentless advertising fills our screens and mailboxes, intimating that without the latest gadget or doodad we are somehow not living our best lives now. If we don’t buy our children the most recent toy from the most recent movie, their fragile self-esteems will be irrevocably damaged and they will end up being social misfits. Then, there are the demands of family: the pull between your parents and your spouse’s parents, the splitting and sharing of time that can sometimes result in hurt feelings and a year of not hearing the end of it.
It’s enough to make a person lose their focus on what the Christmas season is really all about: the coming of Immanuel, God with us. The world throws enough distractions at us on a daily basis that are designed to draw our attention away from our walk with our Savior and Lord. There are bills that must be paid despite the emergencies that seem to constantly crop up: a car or home repair, a medical emergency, or an appliance replacement. There are meetings upon meetings, not to mention the need for time spent with our families. Then there’s the constant nagging voice of the Enemy, at first gently encouraging us to put our efforts on the urgent rather than the important and then condemning us for doing just that.
That’s the reason for the Advent season. Advent means “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event,” and within the Christian faith, it can refer to both Christ’s first and second coming. Advent takes place over the four Sundays prior to Christmas and is designed to help us maintain our focus on the first coming of Christ. We remember the prophecies given by God that were being watched for by the faithful (like Zechariah [Luke 1:67-79], Simeon [Luke 2:25-35], and Anna [Luke 2:36-38]) and even the pagan Magi (Matthew 2:1-12). We remember the announcement of the angels to the shepherds who were watching their flocks by night. We remember His humble birth in the manger to the virgin Mary, because there was no room in the inn for them. But most of all, we remember why He came: to redeem His people from the bondage of sin and death.
For the next four weeks, we’ll be celebrating Advent, remembering each of these aspects of the first Advent and how Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection has made all the difference in our lives. As we celebrate His first Advent, we eagerly await and watch for His second Advent with hearts that cry out, “Maranatha!” Just something to think about…
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