Weekly Article

Advent for Non-Anglicans

Weekly Article 11/25/05

by the Rev. Matt Kennedy

Church of the Good Shepherd

Advent for Non-Anglicans

For those of you new to the Anglican tradition, or at least, new to Good Shepherd, you'll notice some changes this coming Sunday. 1. I'll be wearing blue instead of green. 2. The altar will have been moved back to face the wall. 3. The service will boast a number of “thee”s and “thy”s and “thou”s. All three of these changes are related to Advent.

The blue reminds us of the dawn. Jesus' birth marked a new day in the history of God's creation. God was acting to save a fallen world and his fallen people. As believers prepare themselves to celebrate the birth of Christ we do so in the blue light of the coming dawn.

But Advent is not only a time of anticipatory joy, it is also a time for self examination, repentance, and humility.

The altar is moved back to the wall so that the entire church, pastors, leaders, and people, might humble ourselves before God and recognize that the Lord alone is God and we all bow before him. When the altar is out from the wall, sometimes the pastor, standing behind it, can become the center of attention and focus. That should not be. Moving the altar back for a season, gives us the opportunity to refocus our hearts on the Lord.

The traditional language of the Rite I service sometimes obscures the meaning of the words. If you read through the service carefully, you'll notice that it places far more emphasis upon both the holiness and majesty of God and the atoning death of Christ for the sins of the world than does the Rite II service. It is, therefore, most appropriate for Advent and Lent, the two seasons of preparation and repentance.

Since Advent is the church season set aside to prepare and anticipate the coming of the Lord, many of the readings will take us back to the time before Jesus' birth when the prophets, the last being John the Baptist, predicted the coming of the Messiah to rescue and redeem God's people. Others will remind us that we, here and now, should be living lives of preparation because Jesus is coming again to establish his Kingdom over all the earth. We should be ready to meet him at any time.

How do we get ready?

If you look back at the ministry of John the Baptist you will see that his message was pretty simple. The Lord is coming so the people of God must… “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” That, in short, is a great summary of the purpose of Advent. “Repent and prepare“.

If you were to meet Jesus today, would you be ready? Would your life please him? Would he look at you and say, “Well done good and faithful servant”?

The best way to be ready, the only way in fact, is to invite Jesus into your heart. If you have not done that, do it now, today, so that you can begin living a new life with Jesus today and when he returns you will continue living with him forever.

If you have already invited Jesus into your life, this is a great time to examine yourself and see if you have been living faithfully as his disciple. Perhaps there are some things God is calling you to let go of? Perhaps there is something God is calling you to do? Spend some time in your daily prayers asking God to show you what you can do to prepare for his coming.

Matt+