Preparing for Advent
Advent begins on Sunday November 27th and ends on Saturday December 24th. As a parish we have a number of events planned to help you celebrate the season and you can find those on our Events Page. We would love to see you at all of those gatherings, but Advent is also something you can celebrate at home.
The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus which means “coming” or “arrival.” The season of Advent focuses on preparing for the coming of Jesus as Messiah. It is an important time of imagining what it would have been like to be waiting for Jesus to arrive so long ago and also to meditate on what it will be like when He returns again.
Advent is a time of preparation, of waiting. In a season that has become increasingly about busyness and consumption it can also be a powerfully subversive time if the community of faith chooses to set itself apart from the anxiety and stress of a “typical” Canadian Christmas.
And yet so often we skip the season of Advent and all it has to offer. Our homes and our practices reflect the stores we shop at not the wisdom of our faith tradition. No sooner is the Halloween candy off the shelves then the carols are blasting and the trees are up.
Advent is a beautiful way of sidestepping the busyness and anxiety we find at the mall. There is a power in this season that can only be experienced if you slow down and take it seriously. Don’t rush the waiting!
If you are reading this and you already have your decorations up or you feel like these practices are too legalistic for you, then don’t do them. In my years of practicing the season of Advent I have found a lot of freedom and joy in choosing to not rush the waiting, but that’s because these are things I chose to do, not things I was forced to do. Advent is worth experimenting with, but only when it’s engaged with a spirit of joy, and not obligation.
This year why not try to take Advent seriously by incorporating some intentional practices into the season. You could use an advent wreath or candle, incorporate an intentional prayer time or use a daily Advent devotional. (I will put links to a few free online resources at the bottom of this post.)
You could also choose to remember that in Advent we are waiting for the Light, Jesus Christ, and pause for a moment every time you turn on a light to remember the season.
One fun way to celebrate advent is to be intentional with your Christmas decorations. As Advent is about waiting, wait until Christmas Eve to decorate your home or gradually add things throughout the season as Christmas Day approaches. Another practice that I have found to be very powerful is to gradually set up a nativity set throughout the season:
Week 1: Set up the stable with animals and an empty manger. (If you have one where the baby can’t be removed, put it aside for now.) Put the Shepherds in the fields some distance from the stable as they should be “out in the fields.” Read Luke 1:26-56.
Week 2: Put Mary and Joseph at the opposite side of the room. The journey has begun!
Week 3: Move Mary and Joseph closer to the stable, leaving the shepherds in the fields.
Week 4: Mary and Joseph are now in the stable but there is no baby yet. Read Luke 2:1-5.
Christmas Eve: Put the baby in the manger. Move the shepherds to the stable and put the magi somewhere else in the house. (They have just seen the star and are starting their journey). Read Luke 2:6-20.
During the 12 Days of Christmas: Leave the family in the stable, put the shepherds back in the fields. Bring the magi gradually closer to the stable.
Epiphany (January 6): Bring the magi to the stable and read Matthew 2:1-12.
As we move through Advent together I look forward to hearing about your own experiments and practices, the things that have been meaningful for you. And don’t forget, in the Christian tradition, Christmas lasts for a full 12 days so just as you look to live more deeply into Advent, you can also live more deeply into a 12 day Christmas.
Free online Advent Resources:
The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund is offering a daily devotion with reflections by Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat: https://pwrdf.org/advent2022/
Living Compass has a daily email option, as well as a booklet you can download or purchase: https://www.livingcompass.org/advent
Kate Bowler is offering a free daily Advent reading book: https://katebowler.com/advent2022/
The Anglican Diocese of New Westminster has a great list of resources: https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/diocesan-resources/2022-advent/pages/more-advent-resources