Advent means coming, and this season of Advent is all about the coming of the Lord. In fact, the prayer we will pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!” is not just a prayer for Advent but a prayer that is meant for a way of life. This is a three-fold prayer: first, we pray to commemorate Christ’s coming in the flesh, His birth of the Virgin Mary in that little town of Bethlehem. Second, we pray for ourselves for His second coming at the end of time, the parousia. And yet again, we pray a third time, not a prayer of the past or one of the future but a prayer of the here-and-now, as Christ comes to us in the graces of the sacraments of the Church. Advent, then, has many meanings and like the Sacred Scriptures it is alive and means many things to us at different times in our spiritual journey and yet it always has a sense of coming…of the Lord Jesus.
Liturgically speaking, the earliest sign of Advent hails from Tours, France in the fifth century when the faithful fasted from the memorial of Saint Martin (November 11) until the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. These weeks were a time of preparation for the sacraments since the Epiphany was the key time for baptism in the Church. In France this was known as “Saint Martin’s Lent,” and in fact in Paris the color purple is not as prevalent as black for this seasonal celebration. In other parts of the world the focus was less on baptism and more on the eschatological meaning (the end times), the Last Judgment. In Rome during this same period the focus was more historical as it was the first time the readings of the Gospel which depict the Incarnation of God made man were proclaimed in preparation of the great solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord.
Advent, as it is liturgically celebrated today during the first two weeks is a blend of all these traditions and rituals and yet it still has as its primary focus the coming of the Lord at the end of time. From December 17 onward, our celebration or fo-cus on Advent shifts a wee bit to the birth of the infant child in Bethlehem. While there is definitely a flavor of penitence (after all, we omit the Gloria) the overriding theme is that of a joyful expectation of the coming of Christ.
Why so joyful? Just as Jesus was born of Mary, in baptism we are reborn as children of God. And that, my friends, is all that needs to be said. We are God’s children—all of us—and we are all called to joyfully await (which does not mean we are called to inactively wait for) His second coming in glory, the creation of the fullness of His Kingdom. It means that we are all called to make His Kingdom present in the here and now. Advent is a time to learn more deeply how we are all called to participate in His call to build-up the Kingdom of God in the material world.
The signs of Advent. While it happens every year, the changes in the church are dramatic and powerful, and they are well worth reiterating so that we not only see but understand what these signs and symbols call for (remember from last week that signs and symbols always point to a greater reality): The color purple isn’t just a movie. Purple vestments, candles, altar cloths and bows and the green and grapevine wreaths all symbolize the reality of penitence, a time to look introspectively at our lives, our faith formation, and refocus our spiritual journey so that we are on the path to righteousness. In ancient times, the color purple was also a sign of royalty but for the Church we employ it as a sign of penitence and deep inward thinking. The Advent Wreath symbolizes in the four weeks of Advent in the gift of everlasting life. Made of greenery, tradition-ally boxwood, which never dies but remains green the entire year, the wreath which is an unbroken circle highlights the unending Christian life, the gift of eternal life. The four candles, three pur-ple and one pink, are the four weeks of Advent with the pink candle representing Gaudete Sunday, the third week, a time of great joy which comes from the Entrance Antiphon (in Latin) Gaudete in Domino semper, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” The grapevine wreaths which we hang on the large back wall of the church are unique for many reasons. First, they are dried grapevine to signify the frailty and mortality of human life. It does end. They are also not perfect circles, highlighting our weaknesses and our tendency to imperfection, or sin. And they are not hung uniformly as that too has a meaning—our lives are different and not always “on track” due to our sinful nature. But all is not lost. The weakness, the sins, the frailty which is our humanness will be changed by the sacramental graces we receive from Christ in His Church and our lives will be changed, transformed from the dried and frail grapevines to the strong and ever-so-lively greenery of the Advent Wreath, symbolizing our transformation in the Resurrection.
Our sacred music at Mass will also change this Advent season. Gone is the Gloria, not to be sung again until Christmas. All music has a “less is more” quality about it, though that does not mean that new songs cannot be introduced but rather that the music is to be simple. The entire Advent season calls us to gradually build-up our excitement of the coming of the Lord.
And finally, our Jesse Tree, which holds a proud place in the center of the church. The dead pine tree, last year’s Christ-mas tree from the rectory’s living room, becomes the holder for decorations that will represent the history of the Old Testament and people who foretold the coming of the great Messiah, and the life of Christ, and His people to follow. The first week of Advent we will provide homemade Jesse Tree decorations for children to place on it during the offertory procession. After that, I invite the children of our parish to make some decorations at home and to bring them to church so that we can use them throughout the sea-son. Ideas for decorations can come from any of the Old Testa-ment stories or the people and places of the Old Testament. Be creative! Noah’s Ark or the Ark of the Covenant, an apple, an-gles, prophets, the River Jordan, A scribe or a Pharisee, a rainbow, a pharaoh or King David, Sarah, Isaac, David, Goliath, Job or any other person, place or thing from the ancient readings. Color paper, popsicle sticks, cardboard and any other item in your art kit or from around your home.
Let us joyfully and peacefully celebrate Advent and not rush too fast into Christmas!
