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Dear Sister and Brother in the Lord:
Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of
anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for
deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite
slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is
the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a
world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance by a
God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance!
It is that hope, however faint at times, and that God, however distant
He sometimes seems, which brings to the world the anticipation of a King
who will rule with truth and justice and righteousness over His people
and in His creation. It is that hope that once anticipated, and now
anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will
bring peace and justice and righteousness to the world. Part of the
expectation also anticipates a judgment on sin and a calling of the
world to accountability before God. We long for God to come and set the
world right! Yet, as the prophet Amos warned, the expectation of a
coming judgment at the "Day of the Lord" may not be the day of light
that we might want, because the penetrating light of God’s judgment on
sin will shine just as brightly on God’s people.
Because of this important truth, especially in the
Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Season of Advent has been a time of
fasting and penitence for sins similar to the Season of Lent. However, a
different emphasis for the season of Advent has gradually unfolded in
much of the rest of the church. The season of Advent has come to be
celebrated more in terms of expectation or anticipation. Yet, the
anticipation of the Coming of the Messiah throughout the Old Testament
and Judaism was not in connection with remembrance of sins. Rather, it
was in the context of oppression and injustice, the longing for
redemption, not from personal guilt and sin but from the systemic evil
of the world expressed in evil empires and tyrants. It is in that sense
that all creation groans for its redemption as we witness the evil that
so dominates our world (Rom 8:18-25).
Of course, there is the problem of longing for
vindication from an evil world when we are contributors to that evil.
This is the power of the images of Amos when he warns about longing for
the "Day of the Lord" that will really be a day of darkness (Amos
5:18-20). Still, even with Amos’ warning the time of Advent is one of
expectation and anticipation, a longing for God's actions to restore all
things and vindicate the righteous. This is why during Advent we as
Christians also anticipate the Second Coming as a twin theme of the
season. So, while some church traditions focus on penitence during
Advent, the spirit of that expectation from the Old Testament is better
captured with a joyous sense of expectancy. Rather than a time of
mourning and fasting, Advent is celebrated as a time of joy and
happiness as we await the coming of the King.
There will be time enough during the rest of the journey
through the Church Year to remember our sins. It begins in Epiphany when
we hear about the Kingdom, and realize our failure to produce it. Then
as we move toward and through Lent we realize that the coming of Jesus
served more to lay bare our own sin than it did to vindicate our
righteousness. There will be time to shed Peter's bitter tears as we
realize that what started with such possibility and expectation has
apparently ended in such failure.
It is only as we experience that full cycle, beginning
with unbridled joy in Advent that slowly fades into the realization of
what we have done with and to the Christ, that the awful reality of Good
Friday can have its full impact. And in that realization we can finally
be ready to hear the Good News on Resurrection Sunday! That is the
journey that the disciples took. And so there is value in taking the
same journey beginning with the anticipation and joy of Advent! So, we
celebrate with gladness the great promise in the Advent, yet knowing
that there is also a somber tone as the theme of threat is added to the
theme of promise. This is reflected in some of the Scripture readings
for Advent, in which there is a strong prophetic tone of accountability
and judgment on sin. But this is also faithful to the role of the Coming
King who comes to rule, save, and judge the world.
Because of the dual themes of threat and promise, Advent
is a time of preparation that is marked by prayer. While Lent is
characterized by fasting and a spirit of penitence, Advent’s prayers are
prayers of humble devotion and commitment, prayers of submission,
prayers for deliverance, prayers from those walking in darkness that are
awaiting and anticipating a great light (Isaiah
9)! The spirit of Advent is expressed well in the
parable of the bridesmaids who are anxiously awaiting the coming of the
Bridegroom (Matt 25:1-13).
There is profound joy at the Bridegroom’s expected coming. And yet a
warning of the need for preparation echoes through the parable. But even
then, the prayer of Advent is still:
Come, O Come, Emmanuel, And
ransom captive Israel! |
