Introduction
We ended the church calender year of 2024 last Sunday. This coming Sunday is the FIRST SUNDAY of Advent. A lot of things may change in our liturgical setting. There are reasons:
First, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before December 25, or the Sunday closest to the Festival of St. Andrew (November 30), and ends with midday prayer on December 24.
Birth
The Saviour’s birth is second in importance only to His resurrection on Easter Sunday. During the Time of Christmas, Christians reflect on God’s great and gracious gift of Himself.
Advent
The Church Year begins with Advent, which means “coming into” from Latin adventus , a four-week period of preparation before Christmas. The story of Jesus during Advent is the story of hope coming into the world. When the time was just right, God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world. The Advent season teaches us to prepare to receive Jesus, the hope of the world. In Advent, we wait for our coming King.
Practices and Traditions
The colour for Advent is blue, which symbolizes anticipation and hope in our coming King. Violet can also be used during Advent as a symbol of our repentance in preparation for our coming King.
We do not sing the Gloria in Excelsis in the Divine Service during Advent. This is the angel’s song at Christmas, so during Advent we pass over this traditional Hymn of praise in silent anticipation.
Wreath
It has become common to use an Advent wreath to mark the season. This wreath has four candles – one for each week in Advent. As these candles are lit each week, our anticipation mounts as we look forward to Jesus’ coming.
Midweek Services
We gather for midweek services. These services heighten our awareness and anticipation for the celebration of Christ’s coming in the flesh.
Text Message
The gospel text of John 18:33 begins a long scene in which the Gospel writer unfolds the reality of Jesus’ kingship. It is a kingship that can be difficult to see, for it is manifest in crucifixion rather than in political dominance.
King Jesus
Today, Jesus’ kingship can be difficult to see for the same reasons.
We know the truth – that Jesus came to free us from captivity to all these other kingdoms and rulers – and the truth has made us free.
And since we know the truth, and belong to the truth, we can act in response to that truth. We can listen to the voice of our king. We can serve him and him alone. We can share, through word and deed, the joy that we have in serving such a wondrous king. We can invite others to come and meet our king. We can pray that his kingdom would be seen by others through us, and that others would receive his kingdom in word and faith, just as we have. And while we wait for his kingdom to come in its fullness, we can get to work. We can work toward making this world look more and more like his kingdom.
Think about how amazing it is that Jesus has entrusted us with the mission of bringing his kingdom to earth. Not fully. Only he can do that. But we can get things started. We can begin to make this world look more like his kingdom, while we wait for his return. And knowing that he is returning means that we don’t have to finish this task. We just have to get it started.
Reflection
What a privilege it is to live in the kingdom of God right now. To live this life with Jesus as our king, even as we wait for the day when he returns in all his glory. And what joy we will have when we finally get to live in the kingdom of God in all its fullness. We can’t do that now. But we can imagine it now. That’s not hard to do. And we can get to work now, making this world look a little more like heaven, while we wait for his kingdom to come.
Conclusion
Let’s get to work helping God’s kingdom to come. Let’s help our corner of this world look just a little more like heaven. Let’s help those around us imagine a world where Jesus is king. And help them to see how wonderful it will be. And let’s do all of this faithfully, and persistently, until that glorious day when all the world will receive its loving king. To the glory of God.
Amen.