Resources - Weekly Laity Devotional

Advent observed as time to watch, wait for Christ

By Bill Fentum
The United Methodist Reporter

First published Nov 23, 2009

To some churchgoers, the season of Advent feels a little unnatural: four weeks of getting ready for Christmas while celebrations in the secular world practically jump ahead to Dec. 25.

Why the wait? The Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards, director of worship resources for the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, has a quick answer.

“Christians aren’t the rest of the world,” he says, “and our calendar isn’t driven by consumer or cultural timetables.”

Advent (from the Latin word Adventus, or “coming”)—observed in the Western church on the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day—starts this year on Nov. 29. It’s the first season in the liturgical year, a time to anticipate both the arrival of the Christ child and Christ’s return at the end of time.

Lectionary readings in the first Sunday of Advent focus on the Second Coming, to tie in with Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 22. The second and third weeks of Advent start a journey, as John the Baptist prepares the way for the Messiah. In the fourth week, the story of Jesus’ birth culminates on Christmas Eve and leads into Christmas.

“If you look at the flow of what Advent does,” Mr. Burton-Edwards said in an interview, “we’re not just looking at the babe in the manger. We look at the hope before he came into the world, but also at the fullness of hope expressed in the reign of God.”