As Thanksgiving wraps up, we turn the corner to Advent, which begins this Sunday, December 1!  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the church calendar, Advent begins the church year with the first chapter in the story of Jesus.  It lasts four weeks and ends on Christmas day.  The word ‘Advent’ comes from the Latin word ‘adventus’ which means ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’.  Used by the church, Advent refers to the first arrival of Jesus, when he was born in Bethlehem.  Advent also anticipates the second coming of Jesus, where all things will be made right as he ushers in a new heaven and a new earth.  

With these two arrivals of Jesus as our focus, Advent is a season filled with expectation.  An Advent wreath with colored candles will once again be on display in the Worship Center to represent each of the Advent themes (hope, peace, joy and love), with a fifth candle in the center to represent the birth of Christ.  Another thing you will notice is the presence of the color purple.  It is the color of royalty which points us to the coming of King Jesus!

Our invitation to you during Advent is to intentionally make room to reflect on this first chapter of the story of Jesus.  Make a commitment to attend Sunday services during this season as we remember how our smaller stories are all parts of God’s greater story.  Purchase a ‘Seasons Calendar’ at church which contains the scripture passages we will be using during our Sunday services for the first half of the year.  Consider using the family Advent calendar provided to you by our Children’s ministry as a way to help your whole family anticipate the birth of Christ.  Make the coming of Jesus the centerpiece of this season and notice all the ways you are awakened to his presence in your life.    

Along with the blessed, familiar story of the Mother of God, “The New Eve” illustrates something new for all of us. The lowliness Mary experiences sets free our souls like her pocketed, shattered chains symbolizing victory over death. Mary did not desire “…all generations to call me blessed…” That longing leads to self-aggrandizement. The promise—chosen by God to be the Mother of Immanuel—is a natural-birthing of Christ, just like the promise to the first Eve in Genesis: the certainty that humanity’s heels would be sorely struck; however, the serpent’s head hammered and defeated, symbolized by the snakeskin in her pocket.

Mary’s motive for proclaiming, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” manifests majestically because God looks with favor on her. Prior to the Annunciation, Mary is intentional in perceiving where to discover her longings. She steers clear of contrived lowliness and runs straight into divine love.

In his book Soulful Spirituality, David Benner paraphrases Plato to explain that our desires and longings are more persistent and larger than our satisfactions: “We are fired into life with a madness that comes from the gods and which would have us believe that we can have a great love, perpetuate our seed, and contemplate the divine.” Mary’s madness allows her to rest as she propels her soul to hunger, to seek, to dream, and to long for God. She avoids the temptation to settle for simple satisfaction and addresses her desires and longings.

I wonder if I can give myself the grace to be curious, to be seeking, and to be open to perceiving Immanuel anew this Advent season. To long for him. To desire more of him. Today, as with Mary, Immanuel is with us, and he longs for us to long for him.