Getting Ready for Advent
Scripture – Psalm 62:5 (NRSV)
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
Focus
The season of Advent is almost here. We’re coming into a time when we get in touch with our yearning for healing, justice, peace, and salvation. Most of all, Advent is a time for us to feel more strongly our yearning for God, even as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of the Messiah at Christmas.
We have two online resources to help you have a rich celebration of Advent:
Welcome to Advent: Discover the meaning and spiritual value of Advent. I share my personal experience of Advent, including “My Greatest Advent Discovery.”
Devotions for Advent: Five devotions, centered around the use of an Advent wreath. For individuals, families, or small groups.
Devotion
The season of Advent is almost here. In this devotion I’d like to help you get ready for a rich experience of God’s grace in this special season of the year. I have found Advent to be a time for deepening and enriching my relationship with the Lord. I’d love to help this be true for you also.
Officially, Advent begins this coming Sunday, November 29th, the first of four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. The length of Advent varies a bit each year because Christmas Day moves around in the week. In 2020, with Christmas Day on a Friday, Advent lasts for 26 days, beginning on November 29th and ending on December 24th, Christmas Eve.
As you may know, the word “advent” is derived from the Latin term adventus, which means “visit” or “coming.” During Advent, Christians focus on the advent of Jesus . . . actually on two advents. We remember the ancient Jewish longing for God’s salvation through the Messiah, the Anointed King. In this way we yearn for the first advent of Jesus. Also, we get in touch with our own longing for Christ’s return, when God will establish his kingdom and wipe away every tear. Thus, Advent stirs up our yearning for the second advent of Jesus.
Many people I know—including me—feel glad about the approach of Advent, much as we might feel about the pending visit of a dear, old friend. Yet, many others among my friends don’t really pay much attention to Advent. These include quite a few of my Christian friends, by the way. They really aren’t even sure what Advent is or why anyone should be excited about it.
Why do I love Advent? First of all, it is a season of preparation for Christmas. It helps us prepare our hearts for a truly joyous celebration of the birth of Jesus. Advent, though, isn’t just a kind of Christmas-lite. It has its own distinctive themes, moods, and colors. Christmas decorations feature red and green, backed up by white, silver, and gold. The major Advent color is, depending on your church tradition, either purple or deep blue, with pink as a secondary color. The distinct colors of Advent illustrate the fact that it isn’t only a time to get ready for Christmas. (If you want to learn more about Advent colors, check out Welcome to Advent.)
Above all, Advent is a season of waiting and hoping. Remembering what the Jewish people experienced as they waited and hoped for the Messiah, we also wait and hope for the two advents of Christ. Psalm 62:5 captures the spirit of Advent perfectly: “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.” Even the mention of silence is an Advent sort of theme. Whereas Christmas celebrations can be happily loud as we belt out “Joy to the World” and or the “Hallelujah Chorus,” Advent invites us into a time of quiet reflection.
In a day where there is so much about our world that is broken, my heart is unusually eager for Advent. The pain in our lives stirs up my hope for God’s salvation. Plus, in this time, we are waiting. Yes, we are waiting for a vaccine that will stop the scourge of COVID-19. Yes, we are waiting for an improved economy and for a more just world. But, when we take time to reflect, we realize that we are waiting, most of all, for God. As we read in Psalm 62:1-2, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.”
Reflect
What is your experience of Advent? What, if anything, does Advent mean to you?
In what way (or ways) are you waiting on God right now?
In what way (or ways) are you hoping in God right now?
Act
If you have Advent traditions that you cherish, then make plans to invest in those traditions this year. If Advent is new to you, consider adding an Advent practice in your life. You can find lots of ideas in my Welcome to Advent article.
Pray
Gracious God, as we come upon the season of Advent, I would love to draw near to you in a special way. I’d like to enter into this time of hope and waiting in a way the renews my relationship with you. I’d like to prepare my heart for a more meaningful celebration of the birth of Jesus. So I ask you to help me reorient my heart in the coming season. May I be more attentive to you and more in touch with my soul’s longing for you.
For you alone, Lord, my soul waits in silence; from you comes my salvation. You alone are my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. Amen.
Devotions for Christmas: Reflections on the Incarnation of Christ
Christmas is about the birth of Christ and his coming into the world, taking on human flesh. In this season, we remember God becoming incarnate, embodied. An 8-part devotional guide for $6.99.
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Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the High Calling archive, hosted by the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Advent in Us: A Special Time of Anticipation
Mark D. Roberts
Senior Strategist
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...