We often think of Advent as part of the Christmas celebration. In reality, it is not a part of Christmas but a season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas.The four-week long season of Advent begins a new year in the Church Calendar, and it concludes on Christmas Eve, just prior to the beginning of the Christmas celebration, often called “the 12 days of Christmas”. The word “advent” means “coming.”
In the Lutheran tradition, Advent’s month-long focus is on a two-fold anticipation: it looks toward Bethlehem and the birth of the promised Messiah while also looking toward the coming of God’s kingdom at the end of all things.
As a matter of fact, the first two Sundays in Advent center on the Second Coming of Christ in liturgy and music. The third Sunday spotlight is on John the Baptist, the herald of Christ, and the fourth Sunday concentrates on the Virgin Mary as the obedient servant, chosen to bear God’s anointed one.
Part of the Lutheran celebration of the Advent season includes the Advent Wreath with its two symbolic implications. The wreath is an ancient symbol of victory and glory, and its four candles, in addition to showing that Christ is the “light of the world,” depict part of the story of Jesus’ birth.
The Prophecy Candle points to God’s promise of a Messiah and King in the line of David who would bring salvation to all people. The Bethlehem Candle calls us to remember God’s word and to prepare for Christ’s coming. The Shepherd Candle invites us to share with others the message of Christ’s upcoming birth. And the Angel Candle proclaims the glory of God and his salvation and gives us the eternal hope we have in Christ’s coming.
In our adult ed class this morning, we took an intriguing look at the birth of Christ narratives in Matthew, Luke and John. Surprisingly, Mark ignores the birth story and begins with John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus. We learned which Gospel has the story of the Wise Men and which has the story of the Shepherds. The stories are not common, but separate.
Do you know which writer has which story?
3 comments:
Good morning.
I believe your question is as follows: "Do you know which writer has which story?"
The answer is YES.
You can't fool an "evangelical Presbyterian turned Baptist turned mainliner" with a question this easy.
Ok, after you demonstrate that you DO know the answer, here's a little tougher one for "extra credit": the wise men had to travel WEST to get to the Holy Land where Jesus was born (because "they came from the east"). However, the star was said to be observed in the EAST. How can you travel WEST and be guided by a star to the EAST?
Small countries!!!!
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