Monday/Tuesday blog.
So sorry the pics didn't load. This week we continue to prepare for Advent.
At
a time when much of the world is frantically gift shopping, putting up
Christmas lawn decorations and anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus,
Christians around the world are observing the liturgical season of
Advent. From the Latin word for “coming”, Advent is a time of
preparation and anticipation for the coming of Christ both in the past
in His incarnation as the baby Jesus, but also in the future with His
promised second coming as Christ Triumphant. Furthermore, Advent is a
time to focus on His present coming to us in the Word and Sacrament.
In the Lutheran church there have been many traditions observed during
Advent that help Christians to both prepare for and anticipate His
coming at this time. Martin Luther encouraged families to observe
Advent as a time for them to teach their children about the coming of
Christ.Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar. It traditionally starts on the Sunday closest to St. Andrew’s Day (November 30th) and continues for four Sundays until Christmas. During this time the liturgical paraments and vestments in many churches will change to blue to recognize Advent as a time of preparation and repentance as well as a symbol of the royalty of the coming King. The color blue can also be used as a symbol of anticipation and hope.
Christians in many countries have adopted various traditions of lighting candles during Advent to observe this as the time of the coming of Christ who is the light of the world. One widespread tradition is the use of an Advent wreath both in the church and the home to mark each Sunday in the Advent season. While the origin of this as an Advent tradition dates back to the Lutheran church following the Reformation, the current form commonly used today was developed more recently and is used in many other Christian churches throughout the world. The wreath is made out of evergreens in the shape of a circle to represent eternal life. It consisted of four candles originally; three blue candles to match the liturgical colors and one pink candle lit on the 3rd Sunday in Advent. This 3rd Sunday is known as Gaudete Sunday, meaning “rejoice” in Latin and comes from Philippians 4:4. Lighting this 3rd candle, Christians relax the fast to rejoice for the promised Messiah is coming soon. Many Advent wreaths also have a 5th candle, the Christ candle, which is lit during the time of Christmas, symbolizing that Christ, the light of the world, has entered the darkness.
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