Ridgell's Originals

Advent.

It is historically been a spiritual discipline in the Catholic church during the four weeks leading up to Christmas.  However, it has recently become popular among many Evangelical churches.

The basic premise of Advent is that joy, hope, peace, and love are coming into this world thru Jesus.

Most churches use it as an appeal to spend less on ourselves at Christmas and instead spend more on others.

Churches celebrating Advent use color, art, singing, sermons, candles, etc. during worship times to highlight the event.

Here is why I like Advent.  Actually, I probably like advent more than Advent.  How can a Christian not like seeing an emphasis on hope, peace, joy, and love?  I appreciate the call to remember that Jesus coming to earth was -- and is -- a big deal.  I like the sense that we should be going into the world to announce this good news.  Spend more on others, less on ourselves.  That is always good advice.

Here is why I don't like Advent.

It sure is easy to get caught up ceremony and miss the real purpose.

Shouldn't advent be all year long and not just Christmas?  Maybe we should talk about using money for kingdom purposes all year long.  What if instead of less Christmas, we talked about less housing, cars, or clothing?

The other thing I struggle with is that most of the Advent talk I have heard is about making people's life here on earth better.  Lots of less for us so we can do more for those who do not have adequate shelter or clean drinking water.  And most of it for people we will never see.

What if advent was really about the people in our lives?  What if it was spending less time on ourselves and more on others?  What if it was about cooking more so you could invite people over to share a meal? Buying gifts for others and having them into our homes to share them?

And God help us not to get so concerned about clean water we forget about living water.  Clean water will not change a life... not the real life.  But it is hard for people to hear about real life if they are dying for lack of clean water.  Maybe that's why the ministry of Jesus had two parts:  healing and preaching about the kingdom.

Water wells as part of an intentional church planting effort.  

It seems to me that announcing the kingdom of God in this world is about people I interact with.  Doing a good deed in their lives, getting to know them, caring for them.  Sharing the story of Jesus.

That is much harder than writing a check for something or someone I will never see.

And ceremony is always easier than real service.

And Satan will may be able to put up with us doing this for one month a year.  He just does not want us to do it 365 days a year.

So should a church practice Advent?  You can find the practices of Advent in the same place in your Bible as Lent, church buildings, and budgets.  So I don't know if it makes much difference in terms of the ceremony.

But advent is everywhere.

So how about we worry less about the mechanics of Advent and let's just go be advent in a world that is dying.

Hope, joy, peace and love.  It is not a season or a church practice.

It is Jesus.  And he is life.