The Meaning of Advent

Right now we're in the midst of this thing called the Advent season. For Christians this is a very important time of the year. Many non-believers know the term, but have no clue what it means. They simply see this time as the holiday season or as Christmas. But, for Christians, the term Advent season adds a little extra weight to our holiday celebrations.

The Advent Season actually begins before Christmas. It's a time of usually three to four Sundays before Christmas, with different strands of Christians celebrating in different ways. Most times the Advent season is counted down through a lighting of a candle each Sunday, or through a countdown of each day. However, the Advent season is much more than just a countdown. It points to something much larger, it points to the bigger picture of the original Christmas Nativity story.

The word Advent actually comes from the Latin phrase adventus which means coming. It points to someone or something special coming or arriving soon. Originally, the term was first used to describe a period of preparation. This period of preparation was for the baptism of New Christians at the feast or festival of Epiphany in January celebrated throughout the 4th and 5th Century. Essentially, these New Christians spent 40 days praying and fasting for this celebration. Really, there wasn't actually any connection between adventus and Christmas - our Advent season. In the 6th century, the Romans were the first to put the two together, however for a very important reason that I'll point later. It was during the Middle Ages that people actually started to see the Advent season as the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Now, that special reason that the Romans put the adventus season into December, and the celebration of Christmas wasn't actually the first coming of Jesus. It was the second coming of Jesus, as described by Christ Himself, and in detail in Revelation. This changes our whole perspective on the Christmas season. All of a sudden, instead of just worshipping the coming of Jesus as a baby, as the Saviour, as the Messiah, we need to start worshipping, and preparing for the coming of Jesus as the King, Ruler, Judge, and Lord of All. It adds a whole new dimension to the holiday.

All of a sudden, our perspective shifts from what has happened in the past (which is vitally important), to what will happen. The Advent season is a reminder that the work of God, the work of Christ, is by no means completed as of yet. There is still wondrous things to come. We can fully expect for Jesus to return, and do even more than He did during His first time on Earth.

So this Christmas, when you see the Nativity Scene, or as you stand singing Christmas carols, or even as you read through the Christmas story, remember that this is just another chapter of the story. This is a time to remember what God has done, and to remember His promises of what is to come.