Advent – Reflecting and Preparing for Christmas
Do you ever feel like your to-do list only gets longer and you never really have time to think? Sometimes I feel like that. We’re getting ready to drive to Southern California now to spend Thanksgiving with Eleanor’s family, and the list of things to do to prepare goes on and on. Then, once you’re in the car, you figure out what you didn’t get done, but by then it’s too late, right?
Our church calendar includes two seasons of the year that are intended for preparation (the “getting ready” part) and reflection (the “looking back” part). If we do the preparation and reflection before the big day comes, we don’t have as much of that other, oh-no-I-forgot-to-do-something-important feeling later.
Advent, which is from the Latin for “coming” is the time when we prepare for Jesus’ coming at Christmas. It’s unlikely that Jesus was actually born on December 25th – it was probably springtime. But we need a specific time to remember and think about important things. Somewhere inside, we know that Jesus’ coming is really important and deserves our attention. After all, this was God stepping into our world in human flesh for us. Wow! That’s worth getting ready for.
Now what do we mean by preparation? Putting up the decorations, cleaning up the church, and getting the music ready for Christmas Eve is all great stuff. But Advent isn’t about that. It’s about preparing our hearts. Are we ready for Jesus to come into our lives again? What does it take to get ready for Christmas? One of the ways we prepare is by reflecting.
Reflecting on our lives requires nothing more than setting aside some time to think about who we are and what God might be trying to do in our lives. At the Advent Festival, we make wreaths with candles in them – one candle for each of the four Sundays before Christmas. They can be a tool to help us in our reflection. Light the candle and spend some time asking God to help make us ready for Christmas. Maybe go over the events of the past week. Where has God been at work in your life? Where would God like to be at work in your life? We will also provide some guides for Advent reflection at the Advent Festival – those may help give structure to your preparation and reflection.
We will also help you prepare for Christmas on Sunday mornings in Advent (December 3, 10, 17, and 24) by taking a few minutes to read scripture as we light that week’s Advent candles and also by looking at scriptures that will help us get ready for Christmas in the message series, “Jesus Is Coming.”
Christmas Eve is much more powerful if we have spent some time preparing. I’m going to try to do a better job of preparing this year so I can enjoy the experience of Christmas knowing that God and I have made the journey there together.
The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” -Revelation 22:20
Praying and Preparing with You,
Pastor Steve