Arrival Time Is Here Again

The Christmas season is notoriously busy. Even when we try to reduce some of the clutter and noise of the commercialized extravaganza going on around us it can be hard to carve out some space and focus to let the meaning of the season sink in.

With that in mind I’m going to keep the Overflow pretty simple through this next season and offer some Advent content that will add to the meaning of the season without taking up a great deal of time. I’ll offer a few extra resources for those who want to go deeper, too. Let’s try to make sure we don’t let the beauty of Advent be crowded out and take those moments to look for God and give thanks as Christmas approaches.

This Sunday we’ll begin the season of Advent with one of our favourite services of the year- the Hanging of the Greens. It’s a time to join together, sing carols, participate in decorating our church for Christmas, and learn about some of the meaning of the Christmas symbols that we see all around us. This year our theme for Advent will be “Light of the World”, and I’m looking forward to sharing this season with our church family.

As we head toward Advent I’m going to offer this excerpt from the introduction of the book Advent for Everyone: A Journey Through Matthew by N.T. Wright, with an answer to the question “what is Advent”? This selection from Wright’s book was originally published on Faithlife’s website here.

Advent itself can be puzzling. “Advent” means “coming” or “arrival.” The hymns and readings often used at this season seem to be about two quite different things: about waiting for the “first coming,” the birth of Jesus, and about waiting for his “second coming” to put all things right in the end. How did these things get muddled up? How can we make wise, prayerful sense out of it all?

The early Christians developed the “church’s year” as a way of telling, learning, and reliving the story of Jesus, which stands at the heart of our faith. As they did so, they came to understand that it wasn’t simply a matter of going round and round the same sequence and never getting anywhere.

Think of a bicycle wheel; it goes round and round, but it is moving forwards, not standing still. So it is with the church’s year. We go round the circuit: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week and Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost. The traditional Western churches sum all this up on Trinity Sunday, as we learn more deeply who our glorious God really is.

. . . [But] we are not simply going round and round the same topics and never getting anywhere. We are signing on as part of God’s larger project, God’s forward purposes, his plans for the whole creation to be renewed, so that (as the prophets said) the earth will be full of the knowledge and glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. . . .

That is the Advent hope.

So the Church’s year overlaps with itself. In Advent, we think our way back to the ancient people of God, to the call of Abraham and his family as the start of God’s rescue operation for a world in ruins and a human race in chaos. We follow the story of Israel’s hope, a hope that refused to die no matter what terrible things happened; a hope that the first Christians believed had become human in the baby Jesus.

With that “first Advent,” it was clear that God’s rescue operation for humans and the world had been decisively begun but not yet completed. Jesus really did launch God’s kingdom “on earth as in heaven” in his public career, his death, and his resurrection. But it was clear, because of the sort of thing this kingdom was, that it would then need to make its way through the humble, self-giving service of Jesus’ followers, until the time when Jesus would return to finish the work, to put all things right, to banish evil and death forever, and bring heaven and earth completely together.

The “second Advent” then, overlaps with the first. We celebrate Jesus’ first coming, and use that sense of fulfillment to fuel our hope for his second coming and to strengthen us to work for signs of that kingdom in our own day. . . . That is one way of saying what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Advent Readings and Devotionals

There are many daily Advent reading plans available from all kinds of sources, but here are a couple of options if you're looking for something you can use this season:

BibleGateway has an Advent Bible reading plan. I think you need a free account for the site to access it, but you can choose the Advent plan from their full list of reading plans here.

Many people use the app YouVersion on their phones to read the Bible and use devotional and reading plans. There are a huge number there to chose from, but if you search for "Advent Reflections" you'll find a reading plan by The Bible Project with some excellent video content and Bible readings. Or choose from the many others!

If you like the idea of getting a devotional book for Advent there are also a great many options, but I'll offer two here.

N.T. Wright's Advent For Everyone Daily Devotional: Luke is similar to the quoted section above, but obviously focuses on Luke rather than Matthew. It's available on paperback or electronically.

And here's one from a slightly more local author: President of Acadia Divinity College Dr. Anna Robbins book "Unexpected Jesus." This one is also available physically and electronically and it's pretty discounted at the moment.

Today's Scripture, Prayer, and Carol

Philippians 4:4-9 - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Lord God, we adore you because you have come to us in the past. You have spoken to us in the Law of Israel. You have challenged us in the words of the prophets. You have shown us in Jesus what you are really like.

Lord God, we adore you because you still come to us now. You come to us through other people and their love and concern for us. You come to us through men and women who need our help. You come to us as we worship you with your people.

Lord God, we adore you because you will come to us at the end. You will be with us at the hour of death. You will still reign supreme when all human institutions fail. You will still be God when our history has run its course.

We welcome you, the God who comes. Come to us now in the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.

- Caryl Micklem, "Contemporary Prayers for Public Worship"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQP0JsxEdPo