Beginners guide to advent:Advent as a discipleship tool

Posted on by Matthew Laker

“The church year was developed centuries ago as a teaching tool. From four Sundays before Christmas to the celebration of the ascension of Jesus, it tells the story of the Christian faith. Advent is the story of the sinful world yearning for a savior. It focuses on Old Testament prophecy related to the coming Messiah”( Rev. Roland McGregor).

The church calendar contains different seasons of the story of Jesus. Each season helps us to get into the flow of the Christian story. In each season, we take the time to learn, experience and live in the story of Jesus and let his story enter our story.

Advent is part of a larger system of discipleship to teach people who Jesus is, who they are in Christ and what we are to do. During advent, we can hit upon the two major themes of Christ’s first coming and his second coming.

If one follows the church year, which starts with the advent, when it comes full circle they will have journeyed through the life of Christ.

We may see advent as a time to just light candles and sing some Christmas songs, but traditionally it is a call to learn and enter the story of Jesus. Advent is not just a tradition, for tradition sake, but a call to obey the commands of Jesus. It is as we embrace Jesus that we enter, engage and experience the life we were created for.

On a Personal level in my home, we use advent as a way to disciple our children. One year we even used a type of advent calendar that had a scripture reading that we read each day. Each night we light a candle, which provides a moment to call them to Jesus, to enter the story of Jesus and talk about the story of Jesus.

Some may say, “but do we not do this throughout the year?” The reality is many have not thought through or have any system in place to make disciples. How are we going to teach people to follow Jesus? Advent can be a tool to help.

Advent can serve as part of a larger system to teach about Jesus. I am not convinced that we have to be legalistic about it. I do believe for the corporate body it can help larger teaching and guiding of the community to cultivate and foster faith in Jesus. In a smaller community, like my family, it provides times for specific conversation.

How have you used advent to teach the young, or old, and or searching in the faith about the story of Jesus?

Beginners Guide to Advent: A Short History of Advent

Posted on by Matthew Laker

The season of advent “ties our lives to Christians throughout history”( John Feister, the editor of AmericanCatholic.com).

For many, the season of advent is filled with indulgences, distractions and 

commercialism that pushes us to rush into Christmas.  However, observing this centuries-old Christian practice has the potential to feed us and lead us to a deeper and more fulfilling state.

Advent is a season you will not find in the bible, and for this reason, an argument is sometimes put forth against this tradition. This objection, however, does not undermine the value of this practice to our faith formation and journey with Christ.

The early stages of advent are not well known.  It is not until sometime between the 4th and 5th century in Gaul and Spain that “advent” was first seen in its early stages.  

During the end of the 400’s there are some sermons that speak of preparation before the birth of Christ.[1] In a sermon from St. Gregory the Great, who was a Pope from 590-604, he speaks of the second Sunday of advent. By 650 in Spain, we see the celebrating of five Sundays. Some have shared it was during the 6th-century that followers of Jesus in Rome started linking the season to the coming of Christ, focusing not on his birth but on the second coming. It is during this time momentum for advent begins to take off[2]. Different regions seemed to work out different practices around this season. Then Pope Gregory (1073-85) takes the celebration from five Sundays to four, the preparation initially not being about Christmas day, but Epiphany.

Epiphany is a celebration found in early January that celebrates the Baptism of Jesus, the miracle at Cana and the visit of the magi.  Once again, we see the use of the calendar for the purposes of teaching and making disciples.  In many cases, this is used for new Christians to be baptized and welcomed into the church.  Like lent people would spend 40 days examining their life and repenting.

Traditionally the Christmas season began Christmas Eve and went for 12 days ending with Epiphany.  The time before this was advent, a season of preparation for Christmas. Today, the Eastern Church participates in a fast that is longer and more like lent and the Christmas celebration lasts for three days.  In both the eastern and some western Churches there are services held on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

During the Middle ages, there was a pagan celebration in December and the church worked to counter and Christianize it, thus further developed advent. Therefore, it became more connected to December.    This does not mean that advent is a non-Christian activity.  It just means Jesus followers at the time were looking for ways help people turn to Jesus.  Thus, the development of a system to help focus on Jesus. 

Advent seems to be a tradition that has evolved over time.  It is a time calling the church together to fast, celebrate and remember.  It has carried themes reflecting on both Christ’s first coming and his second coming. For the moment, there seems to be a strong connection to traditions from the last couple hundred years, but I suspect it will start to adapt again since strong culture shifts are taking place all around us.

[1] (http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-articles/the-history-and-meaning-of-advent/article/173/sort/relevance/productsperpage/12/layout/grid/currentpage/1/keywords/advent

[2] (http://www.canticanova.com/articles/xmas/art1e1.htm) and (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/decemberweb-only/12-2-52.0.html)

Beginner’s guide to Advent: What is advent?

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Series: Beginner’s guide to Advent

Growing up every year, my mom would buy us advent calendars filled with chocolate. For me, advent was not spiritual, but a Christmas tradition that counted down to Christmas day.

I grew up in a church that practiced lighting advent candles and had parents that did their best to teach their kids about the purpose of this tradition. However, it was not until my adult years I really started asking what the role of advent was. I wondered just what was commercial and what was tradition in the church? Was there any connection to Jesus, or was this a tradition developed by man?

To understand advent I first must make mention of the church calendar. One writer comments on the use of the calendar as “time itself could be an entree into worship, a retelling of the Christ story”(http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2014/december/our-own-kind-of-time.html).

 

The church calendar takes the 365 days in a year and coordinates with the solar calendar and the life of Christ. There are the major holidays which many know, like Christmas, Good Friday and Easter, as well as Pentecost. Then there are other special days or seasons that fit around these days.

 

One challenge is there is not one universally accepted calendar for the church year. However, the idea of the church calendar can have benefits to discipleship and spiritual growth of people.

 

Advent is the beginning of the church year. The word “advent” means “the coming.” It starts four Sundays prior to Christmas day. The length will vary depending on the date of the first Sunday. It is about a time to prepare to be worthy to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s coming into the world – his incarnation. It is not so much an event as it is a preparing season to position to meet with God.

 

Those who have gone before us have chosen Scripture for this journey that speaks to three aspects of advent.

1. The advent of Christ coming into our own lives.

2. The advent of Christ’s physical birth in Bethlehem.

3. The advent of his second coming at the end of history.

 

In most traditions there are four themes, one for each week of advent. The common ones are hope, peace, joy, and love.

Hope (Isaiah 9:2);

Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7; John 14:27);

Joy (Isaiah 65:18; Galatians 5:22-25);

Love (Deuteronomy 10:17-19a; John 13:34-35)

 

There seems to be no fast rule about this. As one can find many themes, here is another example.

Waiting (Isaiah 52:7-10);

Accepting (Luke 1:26-38);

Journeying (Isaiah 55:6-13);

Birthing (Luke 2:1-7)

 

There is a place in our journey for a longer season of reflection so that we may be what God has called us to.

It’s during advent that as the world speeds around, advent calls us to slow down and mourn, hope and prepare.

It is a time to face the brokenness of our world and in ourselves and embrace healing in Jesus.

It is a time to be reminded we are an alternative kingdom.

 

It is a time to reflect upon how the Jesus follower uses time, power, money, our bodies, possessions, work, how we understand race, injustice, relationships, God, forgiveness and how they can be at odds with our culture’s way of doing life.

Advent is a call to realign our life with Jesus.

What is Lent?

What is Lent?

Posted on by Matthew Laker
beginnerguidetolent.com

Back in high school, some Christian friends asked me, “What are you giving up for Lent?” Then the same question was asked by my friends at evangelical bible college ? However, it never carried a lot of weight. I would hear about what they were giving up, but never saw how or understood how it helped in their spiritual formation.

Then I came to be a part of a local body of Jesus followers, who had the tradition of practising Lent. Perhaps the idea of Lent is a new one for you. As I was called on to give leadership, it meant a fast learning curve about Lent. HD_ea0131j

The church Calendar rotates around two main events: Advent, which is at the start, and then Lent and the high season of the Easter Celebration. For Christians, Easter Sunday evokes awe and wonder. Historically, this comes out of a 40 day time of reflection to get ready for celebration.

Over the years it has changed. For example, the Church Father Irenaeus of Lyons shares how it was only a two or three day observation. There are also some differences on how the 40 days have been calculated over the years. Today, it is practised over 40 days, and historically there was a connection to using it to disciple new believers.

Even though the practise has developed over the years, the purpose has always been the same. Time for self-examination, repentance and denial of self in preparation for Easter.

Dr. Michael Pasquarello sums up the purposes well, that Lent is an invitation to examine our desires and reorient them toward God.

Throughout the years three spiritual disciplines have been at the core, though many incorporate others. The three are prayer, fasting and alms giving.

What has been your experience with the season of Lent?

What helpful resources have you used over the years?

What questions do you have about Lent?

Stay tuned for more in the Series: Beginners Guide to Lent