Advent in the Third Third of Life

What exactly is Advent? Technically, it is the four weeks leading up to Christmas and this year it started this past Sunday (November 30). Culturally, it has become a time to prepare for our celebration of Christmas. Ecclesiastically, it has been a time set aside by the church to take stock of our progress in discipleship and to prepare for the second coming of Jesus. I like to refer to Advent and Lent as “staytreats” – ie. spiritual retreats where we stay at home, but set aside special times for reading, reflection, and prayer.

Advent comes from the Latin word for “coming” and it has been applied to the first coming of Jesus 2000 years ago, and to his second coming in the future. The original focus was on the second coming, but lately it has been more on Jesus’ first coming. I want to advocate for a correction in our focus since we are not likely to miss getting ready for Christmas, but we may miss a valuable opportunity to prepare for Jesus’ return. As we were reminded in our recent sermon series in 1 Thessalonians, we need to be people who are “Living Ready” for the return of Jesus. Or as Jesus instructed us, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44).

So how do we prepare for the return of Jesus?

1. Become familiar with what the Bible says about Jesus’ return. Here are some passages to check out – Mark 13, Acts 1:10-11, 1Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 & 5:23, Titus 2:11-14, 1 Peter 4:7-11, 2 Peter 3, and Revelation 21:1-5. This is just a sample, but it is a good start.
2. Clean up! Just like we clean our houses in anticipation of guests who are coming, to get ready for Jesus’ coming we clean up our lives, by turning away from any unrepentant sin in our lives.
3. Pray for, and look for, opportunities to share Christ with our family and friends who don’t know him. I suspect if we knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, we would be calling them and urging them to give their lives to Christ today. We don’t want anyone we love to not be ready.
4. Peter tells us that since the end is near, we should love each other deeply, offer hospitality to one another and use whatever spiritual gifts we have received to serve others. (1 Peter 4:7-11) In other words, be busy with the work God has given us to do.

This year our Advent sermon series will focus on four passages in Isaiah that present powerful images of what the promises of the coming of Jesus looks like. Along with that, each week there will be guided reflections to help us think more deeply about what Jesus’ first coming has meant in our lives and how we can prepare for his second coming. There are three ways for you to access these Advent Reflections – the Sunday Worship Guide, the Thursday email or our Advent webpage. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the “Advent Reflections.” You’ll want to do that today, so you don’t get behind. Also, on the Advent webpage, check out all the special opportunities to worship, serve, and gather with friends during this Advent season.

Jesus is coming back! We don’t know when, but we know that it is closer today than it has ever been in history. What are you doing to get ready for that day?

Looking forward, along with you, to the return of Christ!

Steve McLean, Pastoral Fellow – Discipleship