For advent

Being intentional about Christmas. Thoughtfully approaching the season. Purposefully remembering to bring the Gospel into our Christmas celebration. Living in the joy of the Virgin Birth. That's how I want to spend this Christmas season. One of the ways I want to do that this season is to keep up a little bit of an advent blog. Why? Because I'm a bit of a writer...it helps me organize my thoughts. Because Steve did it a couple of years ago and I truly appreciated his thoughts. Because Tasha will get after me if I go too long between posts and will keep me accountable. Christmas in community for me.

So the last couple days I've been thinking about advent and what that means. Growing up in the church, we've always had the advent wreath and lit the purple candles on the four Sundays prior to Christmas. I didn't really question it - which is odd for me - but I don't think I've ever fully understood what it was all about. My mom bought us advent calendars - she would send me one when I was away at college so that I wouldn't miss out - and even though I knew it was important and had to do with the meaning of Christmas, I was just happy to have my daily dose of chocolate! Of course, with my personality, I can only be content with that for so long and so here I am, contemplating the meaning of advent.

So far, I've put a few things together. From what I know about the English language (it's more than it sometimes sounds!), the word "advent" means beginning, coming, or preparation. So, in my mind, putting it all together, the advent of Christmas would be the 'coming of Christmas' or 'preparing for Christmas.' See, I'm on my way already.

At Journey, we're celebrating advent as a family. Now, if Advent is preparing for Christmas, I'd say this Sunday was a good start. Troy's teaching time was titled "redefining Superman" and he basically spoke in monologue type from the perspective of a jr. high Jewish boy living shortly after Jesus. From this boy's perspective, he retold the Gospel, the whole life of Jesus, including all of the boy's thoughts on his birth, his life, his ministry, his death, the fortelling of his coming as told by the prophets and the Jewish people's understanding of what that should look like compared to what it did. It was fascinating.

It was so refreshing to look at the entire life of Jesus at Christmas time. The birth of a baby in a manger is only a part of the story that is the wonder of Christmas. Immanuel. God with Us as a child, a Son, a man, a Messiah, a sacrifical lamb, and a Savior. We have the privilege of knowing how the story finishes when we're looking at the beginning and, unlike an abused children's story, it only makes it better!

The thing is that the Jews, anyone who knew prophecy, were expecting something completely different. Jesus was unexpected, unassuming, and unpredictable in his birth and his entire ministry. Who would have thought that the child would grow up to die as a criminal on a cross, a sacrifice, and in that would restore something so broken by sin? If I were plotting to takeover the world, that's not the way I would have done it. Yet God knew.

I think in all of my contemplation over the weekend, the thing that has struck me the most is the prophecy and the fullfillment of it that we see through Scripture. How detailed a plan was this that it could be foretold hundreds of years in advance!? Psalms. Isaiah. Zechariah. Detailed images of how the King would come. Nothing was left to chance or by accident. Nothing was out of the sphere of influence of our God. That, in my mind, is a reason for peace at Christmas!

The 'biggness' and mystery of my God amazes me!

And so as I prepare for Christmas, instead of stressing out, I choose to walk through the season with one picture in mind: an image of a King who has it all in control but gave it up as a gift for many.

For anyone else who wants to find out more about advent, here's an advent website