The Bridge

Advent Reflections shared with BridgePoint Moms’ Group by Jana Rittgers

What is the first thing you think of when you here the word Advent? I think of two words, calendar and candy.

I’d like to shed some light this morning on the role advent played in the church historically speaking and introduce you to an unlikely Biblically character that shows up in the Christmas story. It is my hope, that these two things will be able to provide you with a more meaningful Christmas season.

My husband and I have a deep respect and enjoy centering our lives around the liturgical church year. We have found it provides not only us, but also our kids a meaningful way to order our lives both physically and spiritually.

In our Western culture the day after Thanksgiving and even before seems to be when the Christmas season begins, as witness to my neighbors already display of outdoor Christmas décor, carols being played and Christmas items already 50% off at Macy’s. A friend who lives in Michigan posted on Facebook that the Elf had already been spotted in her home prior to Thanksgiving.

Advent is not well known as a season, it has become associated with a candy calendar that is a count down to Christmas. I remember as a little girl consulting the peppermint candy “advent” calendar each morning to see how many days until Santa’s came down the chimney. But advent is much more than a mere countdown to Santa’s arrival.

Advent, or the start of the Christmas season traditionally begins the 4^th Sunday before Christmas. Much like my experience with the candy advent calendar being merely a countdown to opening packages, department stores even begin a Christmas countdown with how many shopping days are left. I recently saw on FB that Downton Abbey even has an Advent Calendar. Advent, like Christmas has been swallowed up by the festivities of Christmas and has merely become a countdown. Ironic that Christmas, not celebrated in the church until the 4^th century, was established to turn people from a pagan feast that honored the “Unconquered Sun God”. It was designed to inspire people to turn away from the worship of the material sun to that of the Lord and his son and to commemorate Christ birth.

So now that I’ve said what advent shouldn’t be, let’s take a look at all that it could be. It is a tough season to observe but all the more reason to reflect on it carefully.

We all live in several time frames with different start times, the calendar year beginning in January, the school year beginning in Sept, and the fiscal year at our places of employment. Advent is traditionally the start of the Christian year. The church year does not begin with Christmas itself but begins with Advent, whose purpose is to help prepare Christians; their hearts and their souls for Christmas and to shift our focus from this worldly, temporal life to our spiritual lives and the day when Jesus will return again. The word Advent literally means the coming. Advent was designed to provide time for reflection on Christ’s coming in the past as a mere babe, His coming to us each day and His promise to come again. Traditionally Advent is a season unto it’s own leading up to the Christmas season which begins Christmas day. Christmas season is then followed by the 12 days of Christmas, ending with Three King’s Day, commemorating the Three Wise men bringing their gifts to the baby Jesus. Trees would be put up on Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve was a vigil; a day spent in fasting and prayer followed by a meal when the first star, symbolizing the star of Bethlehem, could be seen in the sky. Santa Claus did not appear on the scene until much later and was traditionally celebrated on St. Nicolas Day, Dec. 6, which I will talk about much later.

As I was thinking about what to share with you all, I inadvertently began humming the old hymn, O Come, O come Emmanuel. That hymn, by the way is consider a traditional Advent hymn and if you have a church hymnal around it is usually divided up by songs as they relate to the church year. Advent hymns are rich in theology. As an aside, many of the old hymns were written based on scripture and were designed as a way to teach biblical truths to the faithful, most of who could not read. The first verse reads:

“Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,  

That mourns in lonely exile here  

Until the Son of God appear.

 Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel  Shall come to you, O Israel!

As a family we sing O come O come Emmanuel during our weekly family devotions during Advent, adding a new verse each week. This has become a favorite song of mine. You might think it odd that such a sad song of minor chords and longing lyrics would be something that I would call favorite. Music really speaks to my heart and you can hear the longing in this song, and the words reflect of how the Israelites felt as they awaited a Messiah. The words are taken directly from the Old Testament and are a prophesy about the Messiah’s coming.

Our oldest son, Alec, who is 15, observed after hearing me hum this song, “ Every time was sing that song, I feel like the party stops and every thing gets real hush and hush and quiet.“ I thought he hit the nail on the head and really captured what Advent is design to do for us. To stop the crazy around us, get quiet, focus and reflect on what God has done, is doing and what He will do. In Alec ‘s words to stop the party for a while and to wait and watch expectantly for what God might be trying to tell us, prepare us to receive Him anew at Christmas and wait for His promised return.

Advent is not only meant to prepare our hearts for Christmas but to shift the focus of our lives not on the temporal but on living with the expectation that Christ will come again. That we too one day will be made new, transformed. Our pain will cease, our hearts will be healed. I Corinthians 13 says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then (when Christ) comes again we will see clearly.” In the series Pastor Matthew has been doing on living generously he preached a few weeks ago from the book of Matthew, where we are told not to store up for ourselves where moth and rust can destroy, but lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven. That was very Advent of him, whether he knew it or not. Advent is a time to take that focus off the temporal and place it on the eternal. Dare I say not racking our brains trying to figure out this year’s gifts that will be bigger and better than last years, not running around crazy with our heads cut off, spending money, getting things that moth and rust can destroy. But waiting expectantly to see God; to have our hearts changed by Him. Longing for God to restore your heart back to Him in a new way. It can become for you a joyful anticipation of how life could be different if we were living in light of eternity.

I’ve shared with you my seemingly odd favorite “Christmas” hymn, more specifically an Advent song and now I’d like to share with you a seemingly odd Christmas character: Simeon. He only makes a brief biblical appearance and only in the Gospel of Luke.

I am such a detailed person and can be easily side tracked when I clean. It will be my plan to clean the bathroom but I go to put something away in the medicine cabinet and end up taking the next hour to clean and organize it. As I was reading through the Advent scriptures selected by the “She Reads Truth” app we’ve been encouraged to use in this group, I read Luke Chapter 2, but they had us stop at verse 20. Like the way I clean, I went further and deeper into the text and I’m so glad I did. I promise I won’t take an hour to talk about Simeon but I do want to share a little bit about him. In the verses following 20 Jesus is formally named, Joseph makes a sacrifice on behalf of Mary in the temple in keeping with the law since Jesus is a first-born male and Jesus is presented to Lord. In the temple was Simeon and it is said of him in verse 25 in the second chapter of Luke: “25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” So we see his character that he was righteous and devout, and that the Holy Spirit was upon him. And nestled in between those two things we are also told what he was doing or how he was spending his time. When I was preparing, the words “waiting for the consolation of Israel, became like the medicine cabinet for me when I cleaned my bathroom. We are told he was waiting, and what was he waiting for? For the consolation of Israel. The word consolation is not one we use very often today. One of the definitions of console is to soothe in time of affliction or distress, to relieve. Simeon was waiting for Israel’s relief; he was waiting for the Messiah that had been prophesied to the people of Israel for so long. He had most likely memorized those same verses from Isaiah sung in O come O come Emmanuel and recited them daily. In my enthusiasm to clean this medicine cabinet, I looked at different Bible versions of that verse. I went to The Message and it described Simeon as a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. He spent his life waiting for Jesus to come. He had also been given the promise, it says, in verse 27 that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. He trusted and believed God that that promise would be fulfilled. Simeon is prompted by the Holy Spirit and goes to Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the temple, takes Jesus in his arms and proclaims, “For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom God has prepared for the whole world to see, alight to enlighten the people.” On Christmas morning will we be able to say that? “For these eyes of mine have seen the savior. A light to enlighten the nations and for the glory of all people?” Do we live in light of God’s promises like Simeon did? Do we have eyes and hearts that wait in eager expectation for his coming again and to fulfill those promises He has given us corporately and as individuals? Can we quiet our hearts and minds, have the party stop for a while and wait in prayful expectancy? We do need reminders and we do need to be deliberate.

So let’s talk about some real practical ways we can be like Simeon. How we as moms can take back Christmas and advent and ordain it back to God.

Instead of the candy Advent calendar, have a scripture one and countdown the days till Jesus’ birth. I am blessed that an elderly lady gave me one of these when our eldest was new born; I’ve kept it every year. I will confess it’s been side by side with the candy and Lego advent calendars but we do the scripture one first. Again, this is a small way that can help us and our families focus and observe a true Advent season.

We lived in Germany for a year. There and in other parts of Europe Dec. 6 is St. Nickolas Day, which helps place the focus on Christ Christmas morning instead of Santa Claus on Christmas day. Google the story behind the true St. Nick and read it with your kids. He was an extremely benevolent bishop and one story told of him is that he thru gold coins out of the window to orphans in the street below. Hence gold coins at Christmas. This, too, takes the focus off of Advent being that countdown to Santa Claus and the gifts he bears.

Download some Advent music and play it as you go about our day or during the evening. There is a whole genre of Advent music, both traditional and contemporary. It’s great source of turning our hearts to a solemn wait and saving the traditional “Joy to the World” type songs for Christmas morning and the 12 days of Christmas afterwards. Advent helps with the sense not that something is over but that something has begun, helps us to prepare to rejoice. Save some celebration for after Christmas.

Dare I say, put the Elf on the Shelf away? How about instead getting three wise men and move them closer and closer to the manger scene every day? Anticipatory joys like the setting up manger one piece at a time during Advent can work symbolic wonders.

I’m thinking I need to add a Simeon figure to our Christmas décor. Set him on a shelf and he never moves. A reminder for me to wait for Jesus and wait in prayful expectation. Wait for Him to do some things that need doing. And then on Christmas morning we bring Jesus to him. And proclaim as Simeon did that our eyes have seen the savior, whom God has prepared for all the world to see. Jesus came for us, but let’s make it our goal that on Christmas morning we embrace Him the way Simeon did.

Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel

Translated: John Neal, 1818-66

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,

 And ransom captive Israel,  

That mourns in lonely exile here  

Until the Son of God appear.

 Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel  Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,

 Who ordered all things mightily;

 To us the path of knowledge show,

 and teach us in her ways to go.

 Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel  Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,  

Who to your tribes on Sinai's height  

In ancient times gave holy law,

 In cloud and majesty and awe. 

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel  Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem,

 From ev'ry foe deliver them  

That trust your mighty pow'r to save;  

Bring them in vict'ry through the grave.

 Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel  Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, O Key of David, come,

 And open wide our heav'nly home;  

Make safe the way that leads on high,

 And close the path to misery.

 Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel  Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high,  

And cheer us by your drawing nigh,  

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

 And death's dark shadows put to flight.

 Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel  Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind  

In one the hearts of all mankind;  

Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,  

And be yourself our King of Peace.  

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel  Shall come to you, O Israel!

Hymn # 31 from Worship 

Luke 2:21- 35 New International Version

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. 22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord" ), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." 33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."