Patrick Comerford
The Season of Advent – and the real countdown to Christmas – begin today with the beginning of Advent and the First Sunday of Advent (1 December 2024).
I got back to Stony Stratford early this morning (after 2:30) after a much delayed and far too lengthy train journey from Cambridge through Euston to Milton Keynes. I had spent a long day in Cambridge at the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, where I was student for some years. Later this morning, I hope to be at the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Giles Church and, after an absence of many weeks, to sing with the choir.
I am tired, and I have little sleep. But, before the day begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 21: 25-36 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 25 ‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud” with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’
29 Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34 ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’
Today’s reflection:
It is almost 70 years since Spike Milligan and the Goons recorded a hit single, I’m Walking Backwards for Christmas. It was originally sung by Spike Milligan in the show to fill in during a strike by musicians, and was one of the 14 singles released by Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan from June 1956 on.
It was released on 25 June 1956, quickly reaching No 4 in the UK singles chart. I am barely old enough to remember it, but I think it was so crazy that it inspired the title of an Advent book by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, some years ago: Walking Backwards to Christmas: An Advent journey from light to darkness.
Most people have learned the Christmas story from school nativity plays and carols, some adults think they know it, but only know it because of the libretto of Handel’s Messiah. But most of the familiar tellings of the Christmas story are more concerned with light than darkness.
The backwards approach taken by Archbishop Stephen Cottrell in his book takes the journey in the opposite direction, as he explores the Advent story through the eyes of a variety of characters. He began by seeing through the eyes of Anna, the prophetess who encounters Jesus in the Temple; followed by Rachel, who weeps for her children in Bethlehem; King Herod; the wise man Casper; a shepherd named David; Martha, the name he gives to the innkeeper’s wife; Joseph; Elizabeth; Mary; Isaiah and, finally, Moses.
Each imaginative reflection is prefaced by a Bible reading and followed by a prayer, to set it in context, as he invites us to step imaginatively into the Advent story.
It is certainly a very different approach to preparing for Christmas. It is very difficult to prepare for Christmas when Santa has already arrived in every shopping centre, when the Christmas lights are already strung across the High Street or Main Street in every town and village, and many of our parish choirs are already singing Christmas carols. Indeed, it is hard to distinguish between Advent and Lent when Cadbury’s crème eggs are on sale all through the year.
But even in the Church we often manage to confuse Advent and Lent, probably because they are both seasons of preparation when we change the liturgical colour from Green to Purple or Violet.
The word Advent, from the Latin word adventus, means ‘coming.’ That Latin word is simply a translation of the Greek word παρουσία (parousía), used for the Second Coming of Christ.
This season is a reminder of the original waiting for the coming of the Messiah. But more especially it is a reminder of our waiting for Christ at his the Second Coming. This season, which begins today, the First Sunday of Advent, is the season when the Church marks a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the coming of Christ, not just as a cuddly child in a Christmas crib, but his coming in glory and as king.
Throughout these three or four weeks of Advent, the readings, collects, post-communion prayers and the other seasonal liturgical provisions try to focus us on Christ’s incarnation, but more particularly – if less successfully – to focus us on Christ’s coming judgment and reign.
Because of that, the ‘Four Last Things’ – Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell – have been traditional themes for Advent meditation. The characteristic emphasis in Advent, therefore, is expectation, rather than penitence.
Purple is not a penitential colour … it is a rich, royal imperial colour, originally derived from a very rare source. Πορφύρα (porphyra), the rare purple dye from Tyre, could command its weight in silver and was manufactured in classical antiquity from a mucus secreted by the spiny dye-murex snail.
As a seller of purple, Lydia was a wealthy woman of independent means. And as Judith Herrin points out in her beautiful book on the powerful woman of Byzantium, Women in Purple, a child born to a reigning emperor was πορφυρογέννητος (porphyrogénitos), ‘born in the purple’.
So, we change our liturgical colour in Advent to purple to signify we are preparing for the coming of Christ as the King of Kings, the ruler of all, in all his royal, imperial, majesty, splendour and glory.
Although comparisons are too often made with Lent, Advent is a time of preparation rather than a time of penitence, Lent too is a time of preparation for the completion of Christ’s majestic task, seen in his passion, death, burial and Resurrection. It was a time too, in the Early Church, of preparation for baptism, which required penitence and repentance and μετάνοια (metánoia), conversion, turning round to face Christ.
Today’s office parties, Christmas lunches, early Santas, hastily-planned carol services, and bringing the last posting day forward to the week before Advent, make it difficult to sustain this sense of being alert and watchful.
Yet, can you remember with glee and warmth the child-like waiting and watching you experienced during the build-up to Christmas? In the cold and dark of winter, can you remember that warm glow you felt as you anticipated such a wonderful festival?
‘Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength … to stand before the Son of Man’ (Luke 21: 36).
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 1 December 2024, Advent I):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Hope – Advent’. This theme is introduced today with Reflections by Esmeralda Pato, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa Representative and Chair of USPG’s Communion-Wide Advisory Group:
Read Luke 21: 25-36
Luke flags three signs that will precede the Advent of God in Christ. He suggests there will be [1] ‘distress among nations’; [2] ‘nations … confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves’; and [3] ‘people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world’. The scenarios that Luke paints speak to our lived experiences. War and violent conflicts. People, especially the most vulnerable, are confused, anxious and helpless. Greed has consumed the earth resulting in immeasurable plundering and destruction of its resources as implied in verse 25.
And yet God does not leave us in that place. Verses 27-28 are a sign of hope for all. Luke submits that with the coming of the Son of Man, ‘redemption is near’. As a time of waiting Advent serves as a sign of hope for communities longing and waiting for peace and stability. Hope is an important thing. It helps us during significant trial. Hope is not flimsy or merely wishful thinking. It can help us to withstand fire, trials and despair. However, hope is not optimism. Optimism glosses over the present realities and invites us to sit passively and do nothing. But Advent hope is action-oriented. It invites us to trust God; to live carefully; to be watchful and to pray in troubled times.
Advent seasons of our lives can be long, difficult, and painful. But we never face those seasons without signs of hope and reassurance, signs that point to the one who is coming – the Son of Man, our source of strength, our Saviour, and our peace.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 1 December 2024, Advent I, World AIDS Day) invites us to pray:
Lord, on this World AIDS Day, we lift people living with HIV who face misdiagnosis, stigma, and exclusion. We thank you for places of refuge like Casa A+ (run by the Diocese of Brasilia) and for the love and perseverance of caregivers. As we move into Advent, encourage us to see that you are a God of hope who transforms lives.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
O Lord our God,
make us watchful and keep us faithful
as we await the coming of your Son our Lord;
that, when he shall appear,
he may not find us sleeping in sin
but active in his service
and joyful in his praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Almighty God,
as your kingdom dawns,
turn us from the darkness of sin
to the light of holiness,
that we may be ready to meet you
in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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