“Why celebrate Advent?”
For many Evangelical and Charismatic churches, Advent remains a “distant”, if not unnecessary event of the church’s celebrations. That is sad but true, and I know it to be true because I’ve lived the entirety of my adult years as a part of those churches. In my experience, Christmas was warmly greeted, but the season of Advent that leads up to Christmas was not embraced at all. Advent for most of my friends was a strange time that “others” got into, not them.
I grew to love the season of Advent – slowly. I did not start my Christian walk with it, but several years into my walk with Christ I embraced it. Why? Because I was leading a church and busy “in Christmas”, but did not see the beauty of Christ in the Incarnation – the reason why we even celebrate Christmas. I put all of my attention on getting to the one day, Christmas, and missed the days of celebration that led up to it.
It was Helmut Thielicke who said, “When I am asked why as a
Christian I celebrate Christmas, my first reply is that I do so because
something has happened to me, and therefore — but only as I am receptive and
give myself to it — something can [now] happen in me.”1
In celebrating Advent, something began to happen in me. Now, Advent is the most treasured of all times
in my year. While I acknowledge the
importance of many of the other Christian church yearly celebrations (as well
as incorporating a number of the Jewish festivals into celebrations), I have
discovered the richness and joy of entering into Advent. When I celebrate
Advent – year after year – something happens “in” me. Something happened to me in receiving Christ
as Savior and Lord, but to discover the richness of Christ “being formed” in me
(Galatians 4:19) – that is an intentional, purposeful and, I might add,
delightful experience that Advent brings to me.
1 Helmut Thielicke quoted from Christianity
Today, Dec. 9, 1988, page 21.
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