In this first week of Advent 2018, a few reflections:
- I view Advent as a great, warm light at the end of a tunnel. It’s not a train coming in the other direction but the light of Dawn. Days will get longer; sunlight will return; spring and rebirth follow winter.
- Ultimately, it is the fulfillment of a promise: the birth of a Saviour. Worth waiting for and worth celebrating.
- Advent teaches us about patience and hope, the foundations of faith. Advent is the kindling of faith. A sign, a star, appeared in the east and the Magi went on a quest to find and hail this new Saviour, becoming the first in a long line of sinners to “find Jesus”.
- Fortunately, Herod’s hunt to find Jesus was not as successful. As well as the prelude to the triumph of Good over Evil, Advent is a contemplation of the threats and challenges that still stand in the way. Sadly, even today, not everyone is interested in Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward humankind. See Trump, Donald.
- If you’re a little kid, all of this is over your head. When you’re a kid, Advent is about the Advent calendar, a chocolate a day from the first Sunday in Advent culminating on Christmas Eve. The Calendar was a German Lutheran inspiration in the 19th century, now gleefully enjoyed by multiple denominations and atheists alike.
- The First Sunday in Advent is the real beginning of the Christmas season, not the day after Black Friday. Just sayin’.