However you celebrate the Advent season, prepare your heart. It’s early in December and now is the time to stop and ponder to think about your need of a Savior. Get ready to welcome the birth of Jesus Christ.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and with Christmas almost upon us this is a perfect hymn for the season of Advent!
(Joni sings:)
O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel
Who mourns in lonely exile here until the son of God appears
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, shall come to thee, O Israel
You know, this is always the first hymn sung at the beginning of Advent. It’s mournful, it’s sad, it’s plaintive, it expresses longing and wishing and that’s what the beginning of Advent is all about. You see, the ancient Christian church celebrated Advent as a kind of a way to, fresh start faith and worship; a time to examine your heart, be aware of your sin, and recognize: Oh, my goodness I really need the Savior and he is coming! Now, I don’t know if your church lights candles on an Advent wreath but let me explain what it’s all about. Back in the 1500s, the Advent wreath was made of evergreens with four candles around it and one in the center. One candle is lit on each succeeding Sunday during Advent, with the fifth candle in the center always being lit on Christmas Eve. The candles around the wreath are usually purple. For years that has traditionally been the main Advent color symbolizing repentance and fasting. Plus, it is also a color that looks forward to the coming of Christ as King of Kings – you know how purple is always associated with royalty. And in the middle of the wreath is a white candle that represents the arrival of Jesus Christ, sinless and pure.
Now the Advent readings are what are most interesting. The first Sunday in Advent is all about hope: your God will come; he will come and rescue you. In fact, it’s why this Christmas carol I just sang was written: “O come, O come Immanuel and ransom captive Israel.” When the second candle is lit, the readings are about our sin and our need of a Savior. And the third Sunday in Advent; the theme is always joy: “Come thou long expected Jesus born to set thy people free.” And then there’s the fourth Sunday in Advent with more hymns and readings and, of course, lighting the Christ candle on Christmas Eve. And you can imagine what the Advent hymn is for that day: “Joy to the world the Lord is come!”
Now I realize not many churches follow the ancient Christian church calendar nowadays [I was raised in the Reformed Episcopal Church, a very conservative evangelical – but a small denomination], so I grew up with these things and, to me, Advent is a such a wonderful season of great Bible readings and hymns of the faith. But today, however you celebrate Advent, get your heart ready. It’s early in December and now is the time to stop and ponder and think about your need of a Savior. Look at the sin in your life and repent of it because Christmas is just weeks away. Get your heart ready to welcome the birth of Jesus Christ. O Come, Emmanuel.
© Joni and Friends