Advent: Prepare Your Heart for the Lord
Do Not Rush Toward Christmas
I recently had to un-friend someone from Facebook for a highly offensive post. Although we had been friends for many years, her scandalous post was so repugnant that I knew I needed to sever ties immediately. What was her offense? On October 16th, this self-proclaimed Christian decided to share with God and country that they had already put up their Christmas tree! In addition, she decorated her home and started listening to Christmas songs, all while sipping hot cider. That’s right, ten weeks before the proper celebration of Jesus’ birth, she was already singing songs of White Christmas’ and probably spending her afternoons watching Hallmark Christmas movies! I cannot be associated with such riffraff.
Ok, clearly, I’m being facetious. While the above story is true (pray for this person), I did not unfriend her. However, her post did make me think. Each year, Christmas preparations start earlier and earlier. I saw Christmas trees on display in stores this year in October.
Advertisers also push us to make each year’s celebration bigger and more extravagant than the previous one. Economists expect Americans to spend more than a trillion dollars this year on Christmas. That’s a considerable number. Let me put that into perspective for us. One million seconds equals 11 and 1/2 days. However, one trillion seconds equals 31,710 years. Translated into money: it’s a lot.
We certainly do a lot to prepare our homes and families for Christmas. The question we need to ask ourselves is: what are we doing to prepare our hearts? After all, that is why we celebrate Christmas – to draw our hearts and faith closer to Christ. Yet, how many of us, myself included, use up so much of our time and energy going to parties, shopping for gifts, and traveling that we have no capacity left to focus our hearts on the true meaning of Christmas? By the time Christmas rolls around, we can become so exhausted mentally and physically that we can lose sight of the real heart of the season.
The Blessing of Advent
Alas, there is hope. While the world pushes for Christmas to arrive early, the church encourages us to slow down and wait. Before the twelve feast days of Christmas arrive on December 25th, we have been blessed with a season of expectation and preparation called Advent.
Advent comes from the Latin word, Adventus, which means “coming.” As the Church prepares to celebrate the coming of Jesus in his incarnation, it also looks ahead to His final advent as judge.
Advent has historically served as a season of fasting, penance, and prayer. We could think of it as a mini-Lent. I realize that theme runs counter-cultural to today’s joyful, celebratory season. However, if you pay attention to the readings and collects, they are often severe and sobering. The lessons are meant to remind us to prepare our hearts for Jesus’s return. We often associate each Sunday during Advent with words such as hope, faith, joy, and peace. However, our reading and collects would want us to think of four different words: death, judgment, heaven, and hell.
I know. I know. That sounds grimacing. I do not think the radio stations will play “Deck the halls with bells of death and judgment” any time soon. However, perhaps in these juxtaposing words, we can find the blessing of Advent and the means of preparing our hearts for Christ this Christmas.
Death and Hope
On the First Sunday of Advent, our collect reads, “Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light.” The line comes directly from Romans 13. In Romans, Paul encourages us to put our sinful selves to death.
Great! More things to do in December (sarcastically said). Not only do we need to remember to buy weird Uncle Bobby something for Christmas, but now we must put those nagging sins that have plagued us to death. Do not get frustrated. There is a practical side to this.
Paul ends this section by imploring us to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” And notice that we begin the collect by asking God to “give us grace.” Yes, we must be willing to put our sin and darkness to death. However, our hope does not rest in our strength and ability. Our hope comes from Christ’s grace that empowers us to cast off the sin weighing us down.
Perhaps during this season, you want to lay your darkness on God’s throne and ask Him to do what you cannot do for yourself – put your sin to death. By putting those things to death, we find the true hope Christ offers us.
Judgment and Faith
Cranky John the Baptist enters the stage on the Second Sunday of Advent. He comes preaching his advent classic sermon, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance, for the axe is in hand and ready to cut down bad trees.” John comes preaching judgment. Nothing pairs better with a glass of eggnog than a big helping of judgment (again, sarcastically said).
However, it is not all bad news. John offers a word of hope – repentance. Judgment is only a bad thing for those who are guilty. As John reminds us, only the bad trees will be cut down and thrown into the fire. The good trees get to stand and thrive.
Jesus’s first sermon in Mark 1 is, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Repentance of our sins and subsequent faith in Jesus make his coming judgment a good thing for us.
During Advent, we are encouraged to turn our back towards (repent) the things causing us to bear bad fruit and turn toward our faith in Jesus. Advent reminds us that Jesus – the just, fair, and gracious judge – will come someday. This can either be a day of dread or a day of joy. Repentance and faith will decide what kind of day it will be for us.
Heaven and Joy
Ahh. Finally, a week that is not all doom and gloom. In the Third week of Advent, also called Gaudete Sunday (Latin for “rejoice”), we are encouraged to rejoice, knowing that the Kingdom of Heaven is quickly approaching.
In our Gospel reading, John the Baptist was at the end of his ministry. He was in prison and about to be executed. He was confused. He thought that Jesus’s arrival would quickly usher in the Kingdom of Heaven. He thought the brokenness and sinfulness of the world would be fixed soon. This was not what he was experiencing while he waited for his execution.
As we approach Christmas, the season’s joy can be missed for many of us. Jamie and I went through a challenging Advent season a few years back. Joy was in short supply. We felt like John the Baptist. However, we received some comfort in hearing a sermon preached on the Third Sunday that reminded us that the brokenness of this world is not the end of our story. As our liturgy reminds us, “[God] sent [His] beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life; that when he shall come again in power and great glory to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.” Even if your Advent season lacks joy, we can still find joy knowing that our current story is not the whole story. Heaven is coming. Jesus will return. Light will pierce through the darkness.
Hell and Peace
Finally, we have Hell and peace on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. As Christmas is just around the corner, we probably like the sound of the word “peace.” Hell, not so much. In Isaiah 9.6, the prophet gives Jesus the title “The Prince of Peace.” The Angel at Jesus’s birth declares, “peace among those with whom he is pleased!” The word “peace” is welcomed news as Advent comes to an end.
Hell, on the other hand, does not seem to match the cadence of the season. As much as we might not like to think of Hell so close to an otherwise joyful season, the reminder of Hell brings out the good news of peace. The call to remember that without Christ, we are destined for Hell brings out the good news of Jesus’s peace.
In one of my favorite movies, Joyeux Noël, soldiers from France, the United Kingdom, and Germany are locked in a brutal battle during the Christmas of 1914. World War I was raging across Europe. There was no peace to be found that Christmas – only Hell. The troops were filled with despair.
All of that would change as the night wore on. That Christmas Eve, there was an unusual silence in the air. No shots were fired, no bombs bursting, and no yelling from the generals. Suddenly, the silence was broken. The soldiers heard the sounds of the Germans singing together silent night. It pierced the other soldiers’ hearts as they listened to the words, “Christ the Savior is born!” Slowly, the men from all sides began to raise their heads. Soon the Scottish joined in with their bagpipes (Only the Scotts would have bagpipes in the middle of a war!). Before long, all sides were singing and coming out of the trenches exchanging handshakes and hugs.
Fr. Palmer, an Anglican priest, set up an altar and celebrated the Eucharist with all the men. These men, who were sworn enemies, knelt together in front of the Lord’s Table, united by the incomprehensible peace of Christ. At that moment, when the words of Isaiah were read, the title, “Prince of Peace,” was a genuine thing. When they allowed themselves to pause and focus on Christ, enemies became friends for a brief moment. That’s the kind of peace Christ offers us all when we focus our lives on him and the kind of Hell he rescues us from.
Advent Prepares Our Path for Christ-mas
In one of our readings, Matthew quotes Isaiah 40, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” Advent is a season that helps us to prepare for the Lord in two ways. First, it allows us to prepare to celebrate the season of Christmas. Advent’s reading and collects are sober reminders that there is much to celebrate because the Light has come into the world! Second, Advent reminds us that we need to prepare our hearts and lives for the return of Jesus. The world as we know it will not continue forever. God has plans to fix the sin and brokenness of this world. This means He will bring His judgment upon it. The Kingdom of Heaven is coming. Advent calls us to prepare for its arrival.
Let’s not miss the blessing of Advent by rushing into the season of Christmas too early. While the Advent themes and cadences may not match what the secular world is doing in December, if we allow ourselves to slow down, prepare, and anticipate, we will find that Advent is a true gift to the church. It also enriches the celebration of Christmas.
Fr. Chase