Advent-Christmas
Epiphany
Lent-Easter
Pentecost
This liturgical cycle has a long and rich history and
has developed around aspects of the Christian journey and experience. The Advent-Christmas
cycle focuses on the Incarnation, God coming to us and dwelling among us. In the Lent-Easter
cycle we dwell on the Lord’s Resurrection and God raising us to new life with
Him. Incarnation and Resurrection (Christmas and Easter) are the two anchors of the Christian year. Advent
and Lent precede these two great
seasons of celebration and are seasons of preparation.
What is called Ordinary
Time lies between the Lent-Easter
and Advent-Christmas liturgical
seasons. These are known as The Season
of Epiphany and The Season of Pentecost. Epiphany
is about Christ being made “manifest” to a world that desperately needs a Savior. Pentecost
refers to the Holy Spirit empowering the Christian life and making all things
new.
With all that said, let us look at the approaching
season of Advent. The word Advent means coming or arrival. Since it is the season before Christmas, it
is logically about getting ready for Jesus’ coming. We naturally
think of Jesus’ First Coming at Christmas,
but if we listen to the readings that are assigned from the lectionary during Advent, we quickly realize that it is
also about getting ready for Jesus’ Second Coming, which is the long-awaited
fruition of Christ’s redemptive work in the world.
It might seem strange to us that Advent, the first season of the Church year, is also about the very
end of things. It makes the strong
theological point, however, which is that the flow of history from God’s
perspective (Salvation History) has both
a
purpose and a destination. History is not a randomly stitched together
series of events; rather, it is headed somewhere, and God is in the driver’s
seat. There is a divine destination for
all of us, and the Season of Advent is about discovering the Way to
that destination. The Way is, of course,
Jesus. Therefore, whether we are talking
about Jesus’ first coming as a baby lying in a feeding trough in a stable at
Bethlehem 2000 years ago, or about Jesus coming to us in power and glory at the
End Times, Advent is about God coming
to us; thus, we have the great cry of Advent,
“Come, Lord Jesus, come!"
Father Rob
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