Christopher L. Webber - Love Came Down: Anglican Readings for Advent and Christmas

Everyone loves to celebrate Christmas, but Advent is often overlooked in the crush. When Christians began to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the sixth century, it seemed logical to them to prepare for it with great care, so they observed the four weeks before Christmas as Advent. These early Christians thought of Christ's coming not only in terms of the past, but also in terms of the present and future. Christ came to earth in the past, but Christ comes to us now in prayer and sacrament and human need, and he will come again at the end of the world. Because the Second Coming lies ahead, the church's Advent prayers, hymns, and readings focus on the final judgment and the end of the world.

Many reading this book will be surprised by the dark themes in the liturgy in the days just before Christmas. In our culture, the time before Christmas is a time of celebration, gift-giving, and parties. The sooner the fun can start the better. It's easy to overlook the significance of Advent in the rush of Christmas shopping. Advent requires some deep thought on serious subjects, and it's harder to sell these themes than Christmas presents at the mall. So Christians who take Advent seriously find themselves looking strangely out of step. Around them the party has started, but they are still in a solemn time of preparation, considering the shortness and uncertainty of human life.

In the Christian tradition, thoughts about the end of the world have been divided into four last things: death, judgment, hell, and heaven. These are solemn themes, but the solemnity is mixed with a deep joy. Modern science confirms the Christian belief that this world will come to an end, but Christians can look forward with confidence and joy, knowing that the Creator has ordered all things toward a good end, that a new heaven and a new earth are part of that plan, and that in the midst of an uncertain and insecure world, we can trust God.

Advent is a solemn time, but it is a time of hope, a time to look forward with confidence in God, working with him to accomplish his purpose in the world. Advent is also Mary's season. An expectant mother understands the solemn joy of looking forward. With Mary, we can move toward Bethlehem, where God's purpose is to be fulfilled. All of these themes are explored in these readings.

Bear in mind that while Advent is a solemn time, it is far from sad. There is sometimes as much joy in preparing for a celebrationcleaning house, planning menus, shopping, sending invitationsas in the celebration itself. And Advent is rich in symbolism, with its Advent calendars, wreaths, and candles. Children can learn to love Advent for itself, as well as for the excitement of looking ahead.

Christmas, on the other hand, needs no advocate; it is celebrated around the world by people who have never heard the gospel. The joy of giving extends far beyond the church, but can lead people to seek a deeper reason for that joy. Anglicans especially love to celebrate Christmas and to ponder the incarnation. It is the coming of God into a human life, the joining of the physical and the spiritual. It grounds our understanding of the church as Christ's body and of the sacraments as a physical means of grace.

Together, Advent and Christmas have elicited some of the finest prose and poetry of the Christian tradition: words to inspire us, words for us to ponder, words that can enrich our understanding and draw us closer to the mystery at the center of our faith.

It is important to notice that the length of the Advent season varies from year to year. It always begins on a Sunday, while Christmas may fall on any day of the week. Advent may be as many as twenty-eight days, or as few as twenty-two. There are enough readings here for the longest Advent season, and they are dated to begin on November 27, regardless of when the first Sunday in Advent may be. The last weeks of the Pentecost season begin to present us with Advent themes, so there is no conflict between these readings and the assigned Sunday readings of the lectionary.

Try using these readings as meditations. Allow time not only to read the passages, but to think about them and appropriate them. If you read them in the morning, you can recall the words often during the day and ponder them further. At the end of each page there are a few words from each reading to use as a centering thought to come back to later. If you find it most convenient to read the passage in the evening, the key words are there to help you recall the passage the next day.

Since the readings are intended for devotional rather than scholarly use, occasionally the language has been modified slightly to conform to contemporary American usage, and some passages have been shortened. Brief biographies of the authors may be found at the end of the book.

Advent is a time of renewal. Let these readings help you make this new year a time when Christ can guide you to discover deeper riches in your faith.