With stores competing desperately for our business, and a whole lot of “fa la las,” Advent is once more upon us with Christmas following fast upon its heels. Christmas, where God took upon human flesh and dwelt among us, is familiar to most of us. It is a season where God becomes real to us in a way that we can identify with. We have all been children, we have all been helpless, probably more times than we would like. Knowing God can remember what it was like to feel that way is a very important part of our faith. The key to Christmas is not the fact that we are understood; it is the overwhelming truth that it is God who understands. It is this same God who will at the end of his life love us enough to suffer death for our sake and for our salvation. It is a season tied directly to God’s love for us, the gift of grace and the difficulties and pain God is willing to endure for us.

Advent, unlike Christmas, is not so easy to understand. In the early Christian tradition the color for Advent was purple, the same color we use during Lent today. That is because, like Lent, Advent was six weeks of penitence, time spent in prayer and repentance, so that we might be found worthy at the coming of the Christ Child. The Gospel themes of the second coming and judgment still reflect this earlier time. The church, however, found that it was not able to keep the Christmas parties in check, so over the centuries things began to change. The season was shortened to four weeks and then changed to a season of preparation and hope. For those of us who think the church is unchanging, we might be surprised at just how recently these changes were made. It was between 1950 and 1970 that the penitent nature of the season finally faded and the color turned from the purple of penitence to the blue of hope. It was in 1969 that the churches of the more protestant tradition declared the last Sunday of the church year as Christ the King Sunday and Advent took on the form it has now. The church, and even our liturgical traditions, continue to change, but it is ever so easy to believe that it has always been the way it was.

The traditions surrounding the Advent Wreath are even more flexible. I have heard the first candle in the Advent Wreath called the hope candle, the prophet’s candle or the expectation candle. All of these are names that reflect the more modern meaning of Advent. So just what is this modern season we are dealing with, this drastic change from penitence to party? First of all you need to know the wreath itself is a German tradition left over from a more pagan time and brought into the church. Just as Christmas celebrates the coming of the light of Christ into the world and as the candles are lit, we see the dawning in our case of the light of the world, Jesus Christ.

With the first candle comes the dawn of hope the prophets foretell; for unto us a Child is born, into us a son is given and we shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us. (Isaiah) God has made very sure that we know what we hope for. In this season we need to focus on that hope.

The second candle has been called the peace candle, the Bethlehem candle or the preparation candle. These are not so straight forward. There was no peace in Bethlehem except peace hoped for and possibly the quiet of that silent night. It was a crowd of refugees forced to come there by a tyrannical government that just wanted to count them. As for preparation we do need to prepare for the coming of Christ, but like Mary and Joseph, many people in our culture are unprepared as well. The trouble is many people are preparing for the wrong thing. They feel Christ will come again to save us. In this they are mistaken. Christ has already come to save us that first Christmas. This time, like the creed tells us, he is coming to judge the living and the dead and to claim his kingdom which has no end. That is the future we need to prepare for.

The Third candle is called the Joy Candle, the shepherd’s candle or the Gaudate candle. This Sunday reflects the Joy of the shepherds as salvation is announced. Behold I bring you tidings of great joy, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior which is Christ the Lord. (Luke) It is our joy as well as the shepherds’. It is a present joy and one available to all people of good will. Gaudate means joy. This candle is often pink or rose- colored to help us remember that great joy we have already received.

The final candle we call the love or angels’ candle. It is God’s love we are remembering, for the birth of the Christ child is an act of great love and of sacrifice. The angels are spoken of here because they are the messengers of God who first brought this word of love into our lives. What we celebrate is a promise already fulfilled by the presence of a tiny child born in obscurity, who for our sake died upon a cross. And the hope of that resurrection is a promise yet unfulfilled. It is a promise we prepare for as faithful followers of Christ.

The message of hope Jesus brought is something that is as unchanging as the star the Magi followed to find the baby. But the way it is spoken to each new generation can change drastically. It can change from penitence to hope, from purple to blue, but it is always a message that proclaims the promised coming of Christ. If we truly wish to proclaim this message of hope, we are called to speak it. Like with Advent we must accept needed change even as we hold to a hope that is unchanging.

May God’s hope and Joy overflow for you in this Christmas season.

Pastor Jim Bliss
Advent 2008