God’s Son has all the brightness of God’s own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together. After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side of the glorious God in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

I feel a bit unqualified to write an advent meditation – because I confess I don’t really know what Advent IS.  I know that it exists and starts in decemberish and involves candles, wreathes, calendars, countdowns and special services in some churches.  I grew up in a non Christian home, becoming a Christian at 16 in a pentecostal charismatic contemporary church which doesn’t celebrate feast days or lent or advent.   So I did some goggling…

The name Advent comes from the Latin words, advenire (to come to) & adventus (an arrival),
and refers to Christ’s coming into this world.  It celebrates and remembers that God came to earth as a man, to redeem mankind to himself.

The interesting thing that I learned when goggling about advent is that though it prepares for Christmas and celebrates the incarnation, the birth of Christ, it looks as this event as the starting point of redemption, of a life lived by Christ at ends at the cross and the price paid for our sin.  Advent is bigger than just the nativity or December 25th – it celebrates these things and looks beyond to what is to come.

Advent isn’t about standing round a manger ooohing at a cute baby, but it is about recognizing the saviour has come and that the saviour sacrifices himself so we can be free from sin.  Advent celebrates that God is with us.  Advent celebrates that God made a way.  Advent celebrates that Jesus came so we can come to God.

Advent is a season of preparation – and I don’t just mean Christmas shopping, decorating and feast cooking!

Advent serves as a season of reflection – where we can take the time (be it at church or at home with our family or in our own personal time with God) to really meditate and begin to appreciate the magnitude of Christmas.  The magnitude of Jesus’ birth.  The magnitude of “for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (john 3:16).  The magnitude of God made flesh, dwelling with us.

Advent is all about Christ, the King of Glory, the I AM coming.  Arriving.  God made flesh.  Dwelling with us, that we might then dwell with him.

John 3:16-17 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.