Features
Advent foretells Christ's birth
EDMOND — BY MARK SCHLACHTENHAUFEN
THE EDMOND SUN
On the Christian calendar, Easter Sunday proclaims Christ’s resurrection and Advent foretells his birth.
The word “Advent” comes from a Latin word that means “arrival” or “coming.” This season officially begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and it begins the church’s Christmas cycle.
During this season, the faithful commemorate the original waiting by the Hebrews for the birth of the Messiah, and the waiting that Christians today endure for the second coming of Christ.
Alan Day, senior pastor at the First Baptist Church of Edmond, said during Advent his messages will focus on the theme “How Christmas changed the world.”
“It would be difficult to imagine how different the world would be if Jesus Christ had never lived,” Day said. “In celebrating Advent, we accept the clear testimony of history about the life and legacy of Jesus Christ.”
Areas of Christian influence include the dignity and sanctity of human life, the sacredness of marriage, the value of children, the equality of women, political liberty and the vocation and value of work, Day said.
Day said his congregation will celebrate the four Sundays with the lighting of an Advent candle each week, accompanied by scripture readings. The congregation also will sing traditional hymns and choruses as well as season-appropriate contemporary music, Day said.
Chris Shorow, senior pastor at Edmond’s First Christian Church, said he always stresses that Advent means “preparation.”
“Too often we enter the Christmas season expecting the joy and miracle of the season to automatically enter our hearts, and then we feel empty if we don’t feel overwhelming joy,” Shorow said.
Many people feel stressed and lonley this time of year, and Shorow said he believes it is mainly because people expect to feel happy and then they feel guilty if they don’t.
Advent is a time of preparation to receive the “good news,” Shorow said. Christ was born into a hurting and imperfect world. The good news is that those of us who suffer have a savior who is with us in our suffering, he said.
“Christmas means that even though the world is a far-from-perfect place, the peace of God is born into our lives,” Shorow said. “But we must be prepared to accept it.”
Therefore, individuals must recognize the imperfection in their lives and know that God loves them in spite of that imperfection, Shorow said. God offers a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace that is ours no matter what tragedy is happening in our lives, he said.
Before the sesason begins, the halls, rooms and sanctuaries in Christian churches are decorated with holly, boughs, colorful Christmas trees and wreaths. The circular evergreen wreaths, a vehicle for telling the Christmas story, often have five candles, four around the wreath and one at the center.
According to some interpretations, the wreath’s shape is a reminder of God’s eternal mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green speaks of the hope Christians have in God, the hope of renewal, eternal life. Candles symbolize the light of the world, Jesus Christ. The four candles are said to represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of advent.
Advent culminates with the celebration of Christmas, the moment when the Bible says God came into the world as a baby boy who was to be named Jesus, the Christ. He was also called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”
Before he was crucified on a cross, Jesus preached about sin, the need for repentance and the good news: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, NIV).”
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 102
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