It's beginning to look a

lot like...

...ADVENT!

What?

Yes, Advent. For many of us

it's what comes before Christmas. And it helps us

celebrate Christmas to its fullest.

Advent is the first

"season" in the "Church Year,"

beginning four weeks before Christmas. The observance of

Advent originated in France during the fourth century.

The duration of the season varied from four to seven

weeks until the bishop of Rome in the sixth century set

the season at four weeks.

In ancient times Advent was

strictly observed - every Christian was required to

attend church services and fast daily. Today the

observance is much less strict and much more joyous and

hopeful.

The word "Advent"

consists of two Latin words: ad (to or

toward) and venire (to come). Thus Advent

means what it says, "to come to." Advent's

message is that God in Christ did come to the world, is

coming to the world, and will come to the world again.

To explain these three

"comings" we say:

1. Advent is a past

experience. God did come in Christ at Christmas. The

prophets' promise was fulfilled in the baby Jesus.

2. Advent is a present

experience. God comes to us again even now in terms of

rebirth, either for the first time, or a renewed birth in

deeper dimensions of faith.

3. And, Advent is a future

experience. Christ will return unpredictably at the end

of the world. We affirm "He shall come again with

glory to judge the living and the dead." (from The

Apostles' Creed)

Since Advent promises the

sure coming of the Lord, our message at this time of the

year is "prepare!" The Lord is coming whether

the world is ready or not. For those unprepared, His

coming means judgment. For those ready for His coming, it

means salvation.

So, how might we

prepare?

1. With repentance. We

confess and stop doing our sinful wrongs (we know what

they are!) and turn to a more Godly way of life.

2. With prayer. We pray for

the coming of Christ. We pray for a closeness with God in

Christ. We pray that we might be saved and the whole

world saved with us.

3. With patience. We know

his coming may be delayed. But we watch and wait, for his

coming may be sudden.

Our observance of Advent

is expressed in various ways:

1. Use of an Advent wreath

in our churches and homes.

2. Use of an Advent

calendar for our children in our homes.

3. Use of Advent hymns,

prayers, and special music.

4. Special mid-week Advent

services.

5. Preparation of

"Chrismons" ("Christ-symbols") for

decorating our Christmas trees.

Finally, our goals of

the Advent season include:

1. To counteract the

commercialism of Christmas.

2. To prepare ourselves for

a meaningful Christmas through Advent observances.

3. To stimulate Bible

reading in our homes and churches.

4. To stir up renewed faith

and to call for a deeper, renewed commitment to Christ.

5. To think through the

meaning of history in relation to Christ's second coming.

6. To give understanding

and appreciation of the hope for Christian Old Testament

prophecy.

7. To prepare spiritually

for the second coming of Christ that we might be in a

constant state of preparedness for his coming.

8. To grow in knowledge and

appreciation of the ministry of John the Baptist as one

who teaches the necessity of spiritual preparation for

the coming of the Christ.

And that's not all! But

it's enough for here and now.

Have a Blessed Advent! Then

you'll definitely have a Merry Christmas!!

Kollmeyer is senior

pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in

Fayetteville.