{"id":1329,"date":"2010-11-29T01:59:10","date_gmt":"2010-11-29T01:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/11\/why-i-am-an-adventophile.html"},"modified":"2010-11-29T01:59:10","modified_gmt":"2010-11-29T01:59:10","slug":"why-i-am-an-adventophile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/11\/why-i-am-an-adventophile.html","title":{"rendered":"Why I am an “Adventophile”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/font><\/strong>In
\nmy last post in this series, I told the story of my Advent beginnings.
\nWhen I
\nstarted out as pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in 1991, for the
\nfirst time in my life, I began to see Advent as a distinct season of the
\nyear and to experience its richness. Before too long I turned out to be
\nan “Adventophile” – a lover of Advent. Let me explain why.
 <\/p>\n

\"Advent-wreath-choir-5.jpg\"<\/form>\n

In
\nthe years following my Advent beginnings, my appreciation of Advent
\ngrew slowly and steadily. At some point, I became aware of the purple and
\npink Advent color scheme, something we had not previously emphasized at
\nIrvine Presbyterian Church. I remember when, sometime in the 1990s, we
\nstarted using three purple and one pink candle in the church Advent
\nwreath. It was a change for church members, who had been used to all
\nwhite candles. Of course a few people made sure I knew they missed the
\n“beautiful white candles.” But soon our whole church appreciated the
\nconnotations of the colors. (Photo: The Advent wreath on the chancel of
\nthe sanctuary at Irvine Presbyterian Church)<\/p>\n

At some point, I decided to go “whole hog” with Advent colors one
\nyear. I wore purple ties during Advent. I put up an “Advent tree” in my
\noffice
\nat church, which could be seen from the busy street in front of the
\nchurch. I didn’t outlaw the use of Christmas colors in our sanctuary or
\nanything like that, though our paraments (cloth decorations) on the
\ncommunion table and
\npulpit were purple. I’m sure some folks thought I’d lost a few of my
\nmarbles in my zeal for Advent colors, but, for me, it was a chance to
\nemphasize Advent in my personal life as well as in my ministry. <\/p>\n

Why did Advent matter so much to me? Why had I come to love this
\nseason that was generally ignored? Among many reasons, two stand
\nout. First, I found that observing Advent enriched my celebration of
\nChristmas. Taking four weeks to focus on the hope of Christ’s coming
\nmade me much more joyful when I finally got to celebrate it. The more I
\ngot in touch with my need for a Savior, the more I rejoiced at the
\nSavior’s birth.<\/p>\n

Second, I found in Advent a solution to the age-old problem of
\nsecular Christmas vs. spiritual Christmas. If you’re a Christian, you
\nknow what I mean. We recognize that Christmas is, most of all, a time to
\ncelebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s a holiday that focuses on the
\nmeaning of the Incarnation. Yet, given the secular traditions of
\nChristmas, we spend most of our time preparing, not for a celebration of
\nthe birth of Jesus, but for fulfilling the demands of the season. We
\nhave to buy lots of presents for lots of people and make sure they are
\nall wrapped and delivered. We have parties to attend and parties to
\nhost. We have relatives who come to visit or, alternatively, we are the
\nrelatives who go elsewhere to visit. This requires lots of planning, not
\nto mention the energy required for holiday travel. We have to send out
\nChristmas cards, making sure our addresses are right and that they get
\non all the envelopes. If we have younger children, we may very well
\nspend hours trying to assemble gifts that come with sketchy instructions
\nwritten by someone for whom English is, at best, a third language. And
\nso on, and so on, and so on.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we hear our Christian leaders telling us that we’re
\nspending too much time and money in secular celebrations and not
\nfocusing enough on the real meaning of Christmas. Religious posters
\nproclaim: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” But, in fact, Jesus
\nfaces heavy competition from retailers, relatives, and revelers. So
\nwhat’s a Christian to do?<\/p>\n

In my idealistic twenties, I thought about downsizing my celebrations
\nof Christmas. At one point I tried to convince some friends and family
\nmembers that we should make Christmas an entirely “spiritual” holiday,
\none in which we focus only on the birth of Jesus. Not wanting to be the
\nGrinch, however, I didn’t abandon secular festivities or gift giving.
\n“Let’s do that stuff on New Year’s Eve,” I argued. “Not only is this
\nholiday very close to Christmas, but also, if we give gifts on New
\nYear’s, we’ll be able to shop in the post-Christmas sales and that will
\nsave a lot of money.” Ah, what persuasive logic! But nobody was persuaded, least of
\nall my family members. The secular and familial Christmas traditions
\nwere too embedded in our lives and, I might add, greatly loved. So I
\nabandoned my effort to de-secularize Christmas. (In retrospect, I rather
\nthink I wouldn’t have liked doing what I proposed. I too, you see, am a
\nlover of Christmas traditions.)<\/p>\n

As I entered my thirties, I tried to emphasize the Christian aspects
\nof Christmas in the days leading up to the holiday. But I seemed to be
\nfighting a losing battle. I needed some way to focus my mind and heart.
\nAnd I needed some new traditions that would help me. Then I discovered
\nAdvent. For some reason, observing Advent during December helped me to
\ndraw near to God in a way that I had not been able to do before. I still
\nengaged in the secular celebrations of Christmas, happily so, I might
\nadd. But I also added several new practices that tuned my heart to
\nresonate with the deeper meaning of the coming of Christ. <\/p>\n

I know that many others have had a similar experiences to mine. Since
\n2004 I have been blogging about Advent. During the past six years I
\nhave received dozens of emails from people who have shared their own
\nexcitement for Advent. Some have grown up with Advent traditions. Most
\nhave “discovered” Advent later in life, much as I did. All have found
\nthat observing Advent enriches their celebration of Christmas and allows
\nthem to have a precious, peaceful, God-focused experience during what
\nis often a hectic holiday season. <\/p>\n

In my next post I’ll describe some of the Advent practices that I have found to be most helpful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my last post in this series, I told the story of my Advent beginnings. When I started out as pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in 1991, for the first time in my life, I began to see Advent as a distinct season of the year and to experience its richness. Before too long I…<\/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-1329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advent"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy I am an "Adventophile" - 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\/1329","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=1329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}