The advent of something is the time we anticipate that day, like a new job or even a different holiday like Thanksgiving or Easter. Many holidays even borrow certain secular rituals associated with Advent, such as opening a chocolate-filled calendar or marking the preceding days with gifts and activities. But when we speak of Advent, our minds typically turn to Christmas. Taylor McKittrick explains the history of Advent and how it is a time to prepare our hearts for remembering Christ’s birth. “The spiritual disciplines associated with Advent [...] foster a deeper connection with God and a heightened awareness of the transformative power of the Incarnation.” Here are five spiritual practices associated with Advent and some practical ways to apply them.
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1. Prayerfully Prepare
The first Sunday of Advent arrives suddenly, and you have to come up with something in a hurry. The kids want to know what the plan is—open a calendar in search of chocolate? Offer some kind of service in the community each Sunday? Make Bible crafts related to the Nativity? Perhaps you are single, or your kids are grown up, but this is still a precious time, and all you know right now is that you want to mark it thoughtfully.
Start with prayer: how does God want you to think about Advent? There are plenty of places to start your prayers for Advent, such as the prophetic mysteries of Christmas. Pray through passages such as Isaiah 7:14, in which the prophet declared:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Consider opening up each day of Advent with a related verse and meditating on that as your activity. But even in November, use God’s Word to direct you, through prayer, towards the most worshipful way you can observe Advent this year.
You might just want to spend that time considering the upside-down story - shepherds hear the news about Jesus from angels; a virgin gives birth to a king, who is a baby. What does all of that mean to you? How do you connect Christ’s birth with the rest of God’s story and with your own? It takes serious prayer to grasp this mystery. “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:30)
Many resources exist about how to honor Advent, including Christian websites and books. But keep it spiritual and not commercial or trendy. Ensure Jesus is at the center. Start planning Advent long before the pressure starts to mount, and you start believing this is some duty, not a pleasure. “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) Let the meaning of this time sink into your heart and mind so that it is visible through the way you plan Advent but also a beautiful experience for you.
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2. Practice Patience
David Mathis describes Advent as a time of waiting. “From now until December 21, the days will grow shorter, and we’ll be waiting with increasing expectation for the light to return and grow brighter. Advent is a season of waiting and an ancient invitation to slow down”. One way to be intentional about Advent is to think about what it was like for the Israelites who were waiting for their Messiah - they waited hundreds of years for the light of Christ to emerge out of their darkness. Now, we still wait for the return of Christ.
However, we are not great at patience in a world of instant meals, PVRs, and 24-hour grocery stores. The temptation of Christmas is to buy into a secular rush, a flurry of cooking, hosting, and shopping that will fill those dark days, but believers swim against that particular tide. Make time to remember what happened to Mary and to imagine it for yourself. Imagine what it would have meant when the angels finally declared, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)
Israel had waited a long time, but their wait was finally over. What are you waiting for that seems to be taking forever? Imagine the relief of those who longed and believed, like Simeon. When he saw the infant Jesus, he declared,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant[e] depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation.” - Luke 2:29-30
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3. Worship While Waiting
After the door of a calendar is opened, a pouch on the Advent wall-hanging is emptied, or a candle is lit, worshiping Jesus must not stop. These are how we rekindle anticipation, and they are entertaining. The Lord has a sense of humor and a sense of fun, but worship is still serious business. Are you thinking about Jesus in relation to Christmas but still worshiping the King, or are you? What is worship?
Many theologians have said we are all made to worship something or someone. Everyone worships, but often, we are not worshiping God - we are worshiping idols. Tom Reinke, speaking about the Reformation, explores Calvin’s and Luther’s teachings about worshiping idols: “Man’s heart is an idol factory.” Christians are just as likely to worship the idols of fleshly satisfaction as anyone else. We want to be fed, entertained, romanced, astonished, and seen. Even when our actions are altruistic, such as giving money or donating time, we frequently worship at the altar of self-righteousness.
Where is reverence, joy, and obedience directed? Start there, knowing that as you approach the
Whether you use an Advent calendar, light a candle, or proceed with the day’s plans for celebration, your goal is to honor Christ. Do not let this become a season of idol worship; it is merely a means of fending off boredom and impatience by having a mini-Christmas every Sunday before the real thing.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1). If we are disciples of Christ our whole lives belong to the Lord. Submitting our lives means submitting our will, minds, and hearts. Follow the shepherds to a manger to worship the King.
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4. Seek Jesus
Advent is about the coming of Jesus then as now. Ryan Griffith explains: “The term “advent” (Latin, adventus) translates the Greek parousia, a word that in the New Testament always speaks of the Messiah’s second coming. Advent looks forward to the final realization of all that Jesus’s incarnation at Christmas put into motion.”
What do you look forward to at Christmas? There are many good things, like great food, fantastic company, and wonderful lights and decorations. You might find yourself at the front window, looking for your parents’ car as they drive to your place for dinner, growing excited because you will soon get to hug them again. Maybe you look in the mailbox every second day, anticipating more cards to hang on strings below the ceiling.
But are you looking for Jesus? At Christmas, we mark his arrival as a baby and encourage one another to keep the faith as we watch for his return. Scripture tells us to “be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). Ironically, the day when the world supposedly celebrates the Savior perhaps features more distractions away from worship than any other. We easily lose sight of Jesus.
One way to keep sight of Immanuel while we watch for his real return is to look for signs of Jesus’ mark on everything around us. That includes the chaos that has become a secularized version of Christmas. Rewrite the story in front of you so that it is Jesus-centered. Strings of LEDs point to “the light of the world.” (John 8:12) In gifts, see the gift of grace, which is Christ. (Ephesians 2:8) In jubilant music, recognize the joy of salvation; celebrate that God came down to be with us and show us what he is like. Shout for joy that he came and is coming back. Watch for AND proclaim him while there is still time to do so.
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5. Increase Kindness
Christmas is the time when most money is given to charity. More and more people ask family and friends to give money to a specific cause in their name as a gift rather than asking for artwork, chocolate, and jewelry. One can buy a chicken for a family, soccer balls for a school, or mosquito nets. The feeling that this is a time to give makes people generous with the Salvation Army kettles, food hampers, toy drives, fundraising dinners, and silent auctions.
Whether gospel-inspired or not, the Lord will use this kindness to his glory. God can and will make of that whatever he wants to, even from the hearts of non-believers.
However, Christians can use this time intentionally to spread the message that Jesus came to have a relationship with us by being relational ourselves. Christmas is both the most joyful time of year and the most difficult. Many scholars have reported that loneliness is an epidemic, and Christmas worsens loneliness. Michael J. Formica explains: “Those standing outside the social momentum of the season can end up feeling even more isolated and alone because they are witness to something in which they feel they are, for whatever reason, unable to meaningfully participate.” Perhaps the best gift we can give is companionship, not just on the 25th of December. Helping someone to realize he or she could be part of a bigger story takes commitment and empathy, which Jesus modeled for us.
One way we can simultaneously apply Advent's spiritual practices is to bring them into someone’s life without expectation. Jesus is responsible for that: we must love actively and let him take care of the results. No matter what, even if the lonely and ill-tempered neighbor remains lonely and ill-tempered, your own heart will have softened towards that difficult person as a response to Jesus’ call. Obeying Jesus’ call on your heart will fill you with joy, a gift he can only give when you are willing to submit this season to him and to his purposes for it.
Sources: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-neglected-meaning-of-advent
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/enlightened-living/201812/the-loneliest-time-the-year?msockid=2a43fe9d30d2619820a0eb9f31ff60ae
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-nail-in-the-coffin-of-our-hearts
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/take-a-chance-this-advent
https://christian.net/special-themes/what-does-advent-mean-in-the-bible/#:~:text=The%20spiritual%20disciplines%20associated%20with%20Advent%2C%20including%20prayer%2C,awareness%20of%20the%20transformative%20power%20of%20the%20Incarnation.
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Originally published Friday, 25 October 2024.