Advent 2009.
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the
armour of light.
Don’t let it worry you, but it’s Advent , which starts four weeks before
Christmas, four shopping weeks, four praying weeks. By way of introduction, some
history about the season of Advent. There is no such season as Advent in the Eastern
churches, the Orthodox churches. They simply look ahead to Christmas with happiness
and expectation. The very name Advent, from the Latin Adventus means coming, or
approaching. And you will notice that the liturgical colour is purple, the colour of
penitence, although on the third Sunday you are allowed a little respite with the colour
rose, Rose Sunday.
No one thought of Advent until about the 6th century, where penitential observances
started in Gaul and Spain, and sometimes went on for six weeks before Christmas. No
one knows if the Christian church picked up the idea from the pagan fast which took
place in the tenth month in pagan Rome, or whether it came from documents at the
time of St Martin of Tours.
Advent is a season that has attracted customs. Some are old, like the Advent antiphons,
verses sung after the Magnificat at Evensong, the four great “O�s, as they all start
with the letter “O�. Other customs come from Eastern Europe, the Advent star is
put up in Moravian churches, and they introduced the Christingle service. The Advent
wreath comes to us from Germany in the 17th century. It may have had pagan origins,
from keeping the Winter solstice, extra candles being lit each week to symbolise the
return of light. But it Germany the wreath was used in domestic devotions, as a focus
for family prayers. A focus for family prayers, how many houses have family prayers
today? Nowadays we can look at Advent wreaths like a church’s clock, marking the
passage of time until Christ, our redeemer, comes on earth at the Nativity.
But the focus of our services will take us beyond the celebration of Christmas. It is a
season of preparation of Christmas, of expectation, but we look not only at Christ’s
coming at Christmas, but to his final coming as Judge at the end of time. We have to
face the difficult theme of divine judgement, and the traditional themes for Advent
thought are the four last things, death, judgement, heaven and hell.
So while the world outside is pre-occupied in gearing up for Christmas with cards,
presents, decorations and wrapping paper, and I do wish that those trendy and
politically correct local authorities would stop referring to Christmas as the Winter
Holiday, and stop putting happy holidays on the cards, instead of happy Christmas.
Christ is the whole reason for the celebration, …other religions respect our wish to
celebrate and they are happy to join in as well. While they’re pre-occupied with the
materialistic side of the season, we should be making our spiritual preparations for
Christmas, and those preparations start now.
The words of the Advent collect are a useful focus for our thoughts. Give us grace to
cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light. It’s a direct
quote from Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 13, verse 12. There’s a sense
of urgency in his pleas, the night is far gone, day is near. He lists some of the evils,
debauchery and vice, quarrels or jealousy.
I am not going to explore the different philosophical theories of evil, monistic, that is the
opposite of godliness or perfection, dualistic, a struggle between light and darkness, or
the moral or despotic theories. Those, happily, can be left for another time, because
they are theories that demand black coffee, and wet towels round the head, when youâ
€™re teasing them out. I wouldn’t be that cruel to you.
Paul is writing about our relationships with other people, how we treat other people. For
us the gift of conscience shows us what is right and wrong in our dealings with others.
He lists some of the Ten Commandments, and sums them up in the familiar words, love
your neighbour as yourself. Love cannot wrong a neighbour.
How we treat others tells us how we will be treated at the last judgement, the theme of
Matthew’s gospel, chapter 25. At the latter day, when the son of Man comes in
glory and all the angels round him, he will separate mankind into two groups, as does a
shepherd, separating the sheep from the goats. Then is the final judgment, those who
haven’t helped others, given hospitality and stretched out the hand of love, are cast
aside. But the reward for the Christian is spelt out clearly: you have my Father’s
blessing; come. enter and possess the kingdom that has been ready for you since the
world was made.
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the
armour of light.
Don’t let it worry you, but it’s Advent , which starts four weeks before
Christmas, four shopping weeks, four praying weeks. By way of introduction, some
history about the season of Advent. There is no such season as Advent in the Eastern
churches, the Orthodox churches. They simply look ahead to Christmas with happiness
and expectation. The very name Advent, from the Latin Adventus means coming, or
approaching. And you will notice that the liturgical colour is purple, the colour of
penitence, although on the third Sunday you are allowed a little respite with the colour
rose, Rose Sunday.
No one thought of Advent until about the 6th century, where penitential observances
started in Gaul and Spain, and sometimes went on for six weeks before Christmas. No
one knows if the Christian church picked up the idea from the pagan fast which took
place in the tenth month in pagan Rome, or whether it came from documents at the
time of St Martin of Tours.
Advent is a season that has attracted customs. Some are old, like the Advent antiphons,
verses sung after the Magnificat at Evensong, the four great “O�s, as they all start
with the letter “O�. Other customs come from Eastern Europe, the Advent star is
put up in Moravian churches, and they introduced the Christingle service. The Advent
wreath comes to us from Germany in the 17th century. It may have had pagan origins,
from keeping the Winter solstice, extra candles being lit each week to symbolise the
return of light. But it Germany the wreath was used in domestic devotions, as a focus
for family prayers. A focus for family prayers, how many houses have family prayers
today? Nowadays we can look at Advent wreaths like a church’s clock, marking the
passage of time until Christ, our redeemer, comes on earth at the Nativity.
But the focus of our services will take us beyond the celebration of Christmas. It is a
season of preparation of Christmas, of expectation, but we look not only at Christ’s
coming at Christmas, but to his final coming as Judge at the end of time. We have to
face the difficult theme of divine judgement, and the traditional themes for Advent
thought are the four last things, death, judgement, heaven and hell.
So while the world outside is pre-occupied in gearing up for Christmas with cards,
presents, decorations and wrapping paper, and I do wish that those trendy and
politically correct local authorities would stop referring to Christmas as the Winter
Holiday, and stop putting happy holidays on the cards, instead of happy Christmas.
Christ is the whole reason for the celebration, …other religions respect our wish to
celebrate and they are happy to join in as well. While they’re pre-occupied with the
materialistic side of the season, we should be making our spiritual preparations for
Christmas, and those preparations start now.
The words of the Advent collect are a useful focus for our thoughts. Give us grace to
cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light. It’s a direct
quote from Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 13, verse 12. There’s a sense
of urgency in his pleas, the night is far gone, day is near. He lists some of the evils,
debauchery and vice, quarrels or jealousy.
I am not going to explore the different philosophical theories of evil, monistic, that is the
opposite of godliness or perfection, dualistic, a struggle between light and darkness, or
the moral or despotic theories. Those, happily, can be left for another time, because
they are theories that demand black coffee, and wet towels round the head, when youâ
€™re teasing them out. I wouldn’t be that cruel to you.
Paul is writing about our relationships with other people, how we treat other people. For
us the gift of conscience shows us what is right and wrong in our dealings with others.
He lists some of the Ten Commandments, and sums them up in the familiar words, love
your neighbour as yourself. Love cannot wrong a neighbour.
How we treat others tells us how we will be treated at the last judgement, the theme of
Matthew’s gospel, chapter 25. At the latter day, when the son of Man comes in
glory and all the angels round him, he will separate mankind into two groups, as does a
shepherd, separating the sheep from the goats. Then is the final judgment, those who
haven’t helped others, given hospitality and stretched out the hand of love, are cast
aside. But the reward for the Christian is spelt out clearly: you have my Father’s
blessing; come. enter and possess the kingdom that has been ready for you since the
world was made.
