{"id":1326,"date":"2010-11-26T01:28:56","date_gmt":"2010-11-26T01:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/11\/the-advent-of-advent.html"},"modified":"2010-11-26T01:28:56","modified_gmt":"2010-11-26T01:28:56","slug":"the-advent-of-advent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/11\/the-advent-of-advent.html","title":{"rendered":"The Advent of Advent"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>This coming Sunday is the first day of Advent.
\nIf you’ve been reading my blog for more than a year, you know that I
\ngenerally make a big deal out of Advent. If you’re new to my blog,
\nhowever, you may wonder why I bother. My goal in this post is to explain
\nwhat Advent is. My next post in this series will make the case for
\ntaking Advent seriously.<\/p>\n

When is Advent?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Advent is a season in the Christian year that lasts for
\nabout four weeks. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on
\nChristmas Eve, thus there is some variation in its length. If you’re
\nunfamiliar with the idea of Christian seasons, you might find helpful a series I’ve written called: Introduction to the Christian Year<\/i><\/a>. I should mention that Eastern Orthodox Christians do not recognize
\nAdvent per se, but have a longer season that is rather like Advent.
\nTheir Nativity Fast<\/a> begins in the middle of November and is a season for repentance and abstinence.<\/p>\n

In our secular American celebration of Christmas, the Christmas season (or holiday<\/em>
\nseason, ugh) begins in the weeks prior to Christmas Day. Generally,
\nthis season starts in early December, though retailers have a bad habit
\nof beginning Christmas in November (or even October). In my rule book,
\nyou shouldn’t listen to Christmas music or turn on Christmas lights
\nuntil after you’ve finished the Thanksgiving turkey . . . at the
\nearliest. Of course outside of my immediate family, nobody follows my
\nrules . . . especially retailers. <\/p>\n

So Advent overlaps with what is usually thought of in American culture as the Christmas season. But its beginning and ending are well defined, and its themes are quite a bit different from what is commonly associated with secular Christmas celebrations. <\/p>\n

What is Advent? <\/strong> <\/p>\n

\"advent-calendar-girl-5.jpg\"The Christian season of Christmas actually
\nbegins on Christmas Eve and lasts for twelve days, ending on January 6.
\n(No, the twelve-day season of Christmas did not start with the song. It
\nwas the other way around.) The time before Christmas is Advent, a season of preparation for Christmas<\/em>.
\nChristians prepare for celebrating the birth of Jesus by remembering
\nthe longing of the Jews for a Messiah. In Advent, we’re reminded of how
\nmuch we ourselves also need a Savior, and we look forward to our
\nSavior’s second coming even as we prepare to celebrate his first coming
\nat Christmas. The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus<\/em>, which means “coming” or “visit.” In the season with this name, we keep
\nin mind both “advents” of Christ, the first in Bethlehem and the second
\nyet to come. <\/p>\n

If
\nyou’re unfamiliar with Advent, I expect it might feel odd to think of
\nthe weeks before Christmas as something more than Christmastime. For
\nmost of my life, Advent played very little role in my pre-Christmas
\nconsciousness. As a child, I did have Advent<\/em> calendars: sturdy,
\ndecorative paper displays with 25 little “windows,” one of which I
\nwould open each day of December leading up to Christmas. Sometimes Advent calendars are made of wood and feature twenty-five little boxes, each containing some little treasure (see photo).  My Advent
\ncalendar was a way to whet my appetite for Christmas, not that I needed
\nmuch help to get ready for my favorite day of the year, mind you.<\/p>\n

I
\nloved Christmas when I was young, partly because it celebrated the birth
\nof Jesus, but mostly because it was a giant party in which I received
\nlots of presents. In a sense, the Christian observance is a bit like my
\nboyhood Advent calendars, though it has a much more serious purpose.
\nIt’s meant to get us ready, not for a present-opening party, but for a
\ntransformational celebration of the birth of Jesus. <\/p>\n

What Colors Are Used in Advent? <\/strong> <\/p>\n

\"Xmas-before-5.jpg\"<\/form>\n

There
\nare a few other things about Advent, besides its themes, that you might find odd if you’re
\nunfamiliar with the season. The strangest might be the Advent color scheme. We
\nassociate Christmas and the weeks leading up to it with typical
\nChristmas colors: red, green, white, silver, and gold. Advent, on the
\nother hand, features purple (or dark blue) and pink. The purple\/blue
\ncolor signifies seriousness, repentance, and royalty. Pink points to the
\nminor theme of Advent, which is joy. For many observers of Advent, the first, second, and fourth
\nSundays of Advent are “purple\/blue” Sundays. Only the third is a “pink”
\nSunday. The pink, joyful color reminds us that, even as Advent helps us
\nget in touch with our sober yearning for God to come to us, we know that
\nhe did in fact come in the person of Jesus. <\/p>\n

Thus, our major-theme of waiting has a grace note of joy mixed in. If you’ve seen a
\ntraditionally-colored Advent wreath will recognize the purple and pink
\ncolors of this season (with the central, white, Christ-candle for
\nChristmas Eve\/Day). But if you’re unfamiliar with Advent and happen to
\nattend a church service in early December in a church that recognizes
\nAdvent, you might be startled to see lots of purple, a bit of pink, and
\nno red or green. (Many churches combine the colors of Advent and
\nChristmas, however, so visitors won’t be completely perplexed. Advent purists don’t approve of such a mix, but I think we need to be gracious in our response to the Advent traditions of others. ) <\/p>\n

Advent’s Growing Popularity<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Advent doesn’t get much attention compared to
\nChristmas, though interest in Advent is growing steadily in many
\nchurches and in many Christian homes. That’s not to say everybody is an
\n“Adventophile,” a lover of Advent, however. Some Protestants ignore
\nAdvent because it isn’t taught in Scripture and because they associate
\nit with Roman Catholicism. Secular culture ignores Advent because there
\nisn’t much money to be made here. I suppose you might be able to make a
\nfew bucks selling purple and pink candles, but this isn’t going to
\nthrill most retailers. <\/p>\n

I think, however, there are lots of good reasons to pay
\nmore attention to Advent, however. I’ll begin to explore these in my
\nnext post in this series. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Advent Devotional Guide: Preparing for the Coming of Christ<\/b><\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

I have written a devotional guide for Advent. It is based on
\nScripture, and is meant to be used with an Advent wreath. This
\ndevotional is simple and can be used in families with young children. It
\ncan also be adapted for other uses, such as Advent-themed worship
\nservices or personal devotions. You are welcome to download the Advent Devotional Guide<\/a> and use it as you see fit.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This coming Sunday is the first day of Advent. If you’ve been reading my blog for more than a year, you know that I generally make a big deal out of Advent. If you’re new to my blog, however, you may wonder why I bother. My goal in this post is to explain what Advent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[198],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advent"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Advent of Advent - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}