The season of Advent has much to teach and tell

Greetings in this holy season of Advent!!! With the beginning of the season of Advent we embark upon a new Liturgical Year. The Liturgical Year is the structured format that Roman Catholic Church undertakes in accepting the challenge to reflect upon and to live the reality of God’s love in our lives. Advent means coming or arrival, and the season of Advent invites us to reflect on the coming or the arrival of Jesus Christ to us in two ways.

First, the season of Advent invites us to pray and reflect on the fact that Jesus will come again at the end of time. Therefore, the liturgies of the beginning of Advent are filled with readings about the second coming of Jesus Christ at the end of time. However, on Dec. 17, the second focus of Advent emerges. The second focus of Advent shifts our reflection and prayer to preparing to celebrate again during the Christmas season the first coming of Jesus in his historical birth at Bethlehem.

Each season of the Liturgical Year has its own unique character that is supported by the readings and prayers of the different celebrations that are a part of it. In my opinion, the character that is given to the season of Advent by its prayers and readings are among the most hope-filled images found in the Liturgical Year. Some of the most beautiful images in Scripture are found in the prophecy of Isaiah, and some of the most powerful of these images have become heralds and hallmarks of the season of Advent.

The readings from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah that will be used during the liturgies of Advent will provide us again with great reflection themes during this season of preparation and anticipation. They are images of the peace that God has promised to us when the Kingdom of God is fully established. Some of these promises are partially available to us now, but they will all be fully available when Jesus Christ comes again in his glory. So I encourage you to stay with the season of Advent during its very short time span, and I encourage you not to surrender too quickly in prayer and anticipation to the arrival of the joy of the Christmas season.

The season of Advent has much to tell and to teach those who will be faithful to its call and character. Advent is one of my favorite liturgical seasons. In Advent, I find great joy and hope in the promises that God has made to us. At this stage in my life, I much prefer colder weather to warmer weather, and this probably makes me more open to the Advent season!

I remember speaking to my Dad in his older age and sharing with him my preference for cold weather over warm weather. He jokingly told me that when I got older and the cold began to more so affect me in my bones, he could see me preferring the warmer weather over the colder weather, just as he had done. Well, that has not happened yet, but I still remember my Dad’s sage advice in this regard.

The end of the month of December ushers in the joy of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the entire Christmas season. As I have said before, Christmas is the most sentimentally significant celebration of the church’s liturgical year, and Easter is the most spiritually and theologically significant season of the church’s year. Christmas invites us to rejoice in the Child born at Bethlehem, who is the “Emmanuel,” or “God with us.”

In these days as we continue to deal with COVID-19 and the effects that it may have upon the size of our family and other gatherings during this Christmas, I pray that we will nonetheless sense the nearness of the Lord who was born for us at Bethlehem.

Along with many of you, I am ready for the celebration of a New Year that will happen on Jan. 1. The year 2020 has been a very difficult year for many reasons, but the New Year 2021 will bring the promise of new hope and new resolve to overcome together the challenges that we face as a church, as a nation, and in the world. I do not usually stay up on New Year’s Eve, but this year I will be doing so. As many have stated, I want to see 2020 gone, and welcome with prayer and hope the year 2021.

As we enter into Advent, followed by celebrating with joy Christmas Day and the Christmas season, and then prepare to welcome a New Year, let us do so with trust in the Lord our God. Blessings on your Advent season, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!