Advent Is Upon Us!

Beloved in Christ,

Advent is upon us! Advent, from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival” is the time of the church year when we look forward to the incarnation of Christ during Christmas, and as we await the second-coming of our Lord.

It has always fascinated me that it is Advent which marks the beginning of the liturgical year. This is when we move from one year of lectionary readings to the next year in our three year cycle. We are finishing Year C, and now we move to Year A.

So, in a way, Happy New Year!

Many of the readings have to do with the eschaton, from the Greek eskhatos, meaning “last.” The eschaton is the fulfillment of God’s divine plan for the cosmos, it is the end of the world as we know it and the beginning of the reign of God on heaven and on Earth.

Traditionally, the four Sundays of Advent have related to the Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. More recently, in the last few centuries from what I can tell, they have been related to the gifts of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

Much of the Church year is surrounded by celebration and joy, particularly around the gift we receive in our redemption and adoption into the life of God by the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

But Advent is a quieter season. A season of deep contemplation. In Advent we slow down. We witness the Sun setting earlier, and darkness lasting longer. We bear witness to the quiet, cool, darkness as we await the coming light in the birth of Christ.

We await, with bated breath, for the coming of Christ once again.

It is a season of hope and expectation.

And it is a good season to remember that each of us will have our own eschatons, our own last things. An old, anonymous poem reflects on these themes in light of the daily duties we each have and the eternal realities in which we shall take part.

Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every day of thy life:

God to glorify,

Jesus to imitate,

The Blessed Virgin and the Saints to venerate,

The Angels to invoke,

A soul to save,

A body to mortify,

Sins to expiate,

Virtues to acquire,

Hell to avoid,

Heaven to gain,

Eternity to prepare for,

Time to profit by,

Neighbors to edify,

The world to despise,

Devils to combat,

Passions to subdue,

Death perhaps to suffer,

And Judgment to undergo.

May we contemplate the great mystery of Christ, and the eternal realities which we take part in the midst of our mortality!

Amen.

Alex+