Advent- Christianese Explained

Advent. It’s one of those words, isn’t it? 

I feel like there were church words growing up that I had a vague idea of their meaning, but I couldn’t give you more than a one or two word explanation of their meaning- usually another “Christianese” word or phrase as well. A few years ago I was in a college bible study, and someone asked me to explain one of those “Christianese” terms like I would explain it to a nonbeliever, and I realized that it was incredibly difficult. There are so many terms out there that fall into this “Christianese” terminology, that is, a term or phrase that Christians typically know the meaning to, but to a nonbeliever, it’s a completely foreign concept. Recently, I realized that the term “advent” is probably “Christianese” for many people. It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot this time of year, and while people typically connect the Christmas season to advent, I’d guess most people (myself included) could tell you more than that. So, I decided to do a little research. 

The English word “advent” comes from the Latin word “adventus” and the Greek version of the same word, “parousia”. These words roughly translate to “coming”. The season of advent we celebrate each winter marks the coming of Jesus Christ, savior of the world, fully God and fully man. Advent refers to the coming of Christ, a coming that can be seen in different aspects of Christianity: the coming as a baby to Bethlehem, coming to the heart of the believer, and the ultimate return of Christ at the Second Coming. While the most commonly thought of advent is the coming of the baby over two thousand years ago, advent is seen woven through the whole story of Christian life. Every time someone decides to open their hearts and lives to the Lord, His Holy Spirit comes to them, advent. The Bible tells us of a Second Coming of Christ, this too is advent. Advent is the coming of Christ, wherever and whenever that may be.

The Church, especially more traditional churches, celebrates different seasons based on the liturgical calendar.

Advent in the church calendar is the season leading up to Christmas (sometimes referred to as Christmastide). Churches celebrate advent by working to prepare the hearts of the congregation for Christmas through sermons, music, decorations, and events that fit the season. Growing up, I vividly remember getting to unwrap a small present with my brothers from our advent calendar that hung on our pantry door. Each day we would wake up, run the calendar, and unwrap a small trinket or piece of candy all the while eagerly anticipating the presents and excitement we knew was coming. Sometimes I wonder why I don’t get as excited about the coming of the King of the World as I did about toys as a kid. I love the Lord, I do. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, but I’ve never been good at celebrating advent. A day or two before Christmas the magnitude of the reality of Christmas will hit me, but I have yet to fully figure out how to celebrate with joy and expectation the whole season. In all honesty, I didn’t start preparing my heart for Christmas until this past weekend. Thankfully, there is grace found in the gospel of Christ, and it’s not too late to prepare your heart for Christmas. 

Here are a couple of practical ways I’ve found that help me to start observing Advent: 

Focus your quiet time on the coming of Christ. 

This can mean finding a devotional made for the advent season, reading the story of Christ’s coming found in the different Gospels, or even reading through the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by the coming of God as a baby in a manger. 

Find a book to read or listen to focused on the coming of Christ. 

I’ve been driving a lot recently, so I’ve checked out several audiobooks from my local library to listen to on my trips. I recently finished Because of Bethlehem on my most recent trip, and I could not more highly recommend it. There are loads of books to help you focus on the joy of the season. I know you can find one you love. 

Advent Services

Make sure you’re plugged in with a local church and attending (virtually if needed) Sunday morning services during the advent season! This is an easy one, and should fit into your regular schedule! 

Focus 

This is arguably the most difficult one to do. Focus on the real reason we celebrate advent and Christmas- the coming of Jesus Christ as a baby to a little town called Bethlehem so many years ago. That baby was fully God and fully man, and He came to live and teach among us before He ultimately gave up His earthly life in order to give us the opportunity to live eternally with Him in the kingdom of Heaven. 

What could be more worthy of celebration? I sure can’t think of anything. 

Thank you for reading this today! Drop a comment below how you like to celebrate advent! we’re looking forward to sharing some more articles through the rest of this Advent series.