Advent: Forward and Back

This past weekend began the season of Advent.  The reason I say “weekend,” is because our church meets on Saturday evenings, so we lit the first Advent candle Saturday evening.
 
What is Advent?
 
Advent, from Latin adventus meaning “coming,” is a season celebrating the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ that begins four Sundays before Christmas.  Wikipedia says that “the season of Advent serves a reminder both of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting of Christians for Christ’s return.”  It would seem that Advent originates in the fourth century, and is a similar type of season as Lent, which seems to have originated in the fifth century.
 
Why Advent?
 
Just like Lent as a celebration of the coming holiday of Easter, Advent is a celebration of the coming Christmas holiday.  But why do these holiday seasons exist and why were they created?
 
Well, we often count down to really big events in our lives… the number of days until a wedding, the number of days/years until retirement, or even the number of seconds until a space shuttle launch.  In the same way, early Christians considered the life, death, resurrection and future coming of Christ as such a big deal that they wanted to count down until Christmas or Lent. 
 
They saw the past and future coming of Christ as events of immense hope and excitement.  They were so passionate about what the coming of Christ meant that they wanted to prepare for the holiday, in anticipation of its arrival.
 
Advent is a wonderful time for us to look back to the birth of Christ with wonder and amazement… and a wonderful time for us to look forward in hope to the coming glory of Jesus and what it will mean for the consummation of His kingdom.
 
I am viewing Advent with a new perspective this year and am excitedly preparing for Christmas.  How are you preparing?

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