This year has been one of waiting.
We were waiting for elections to come and go.
We are waiting for a vaccine for COVID-19 and to safely be with those we love. And especially now, we wait for the coming of the Christ Child.
Many of us know that the season of Advent is the period before Christmas when we, the Church, anticipate the birth of Christ. What is often overlooked is that Advent is also a season of expectation for when Christ will come again to fulfill God’s dreams for the world.
As Christians, the first Sunday of Advent is our New Year’s Day. Advent is the mantle of the Church’s year when we consider the kingdom that is both among us and yet to come, and when we—with Mary—ponder these things in our hearts.
In light of this season of expectations, your clergy, vestry, and I want to encourage you to make your own Advent wreaths at home this year. If you have young ones (or are young at heart!) this exercise can be a way to get into the Spirit of the season as we rekindle the light of Christ that we first lit during the Great Vigil of Easter. Your wreaths can be as simple as gathering a few battery operated tealights or any variety of candles (5) from around your home and lining them up on your kitchen table, or as elaborate as safely purchasing taper candles in the appropriate colors (3 purple or blue, 1 pink, 1 white) and arranging them in a circle. Either way, the wreaths we make will remind us that, though we are apart, we remain one Body in this Holy Child of promise.
For each Sunday of December, there will be a time at the beginning of each service when we will light our own Advent wreaths. You may light your candles only on Sunday mornings, or some people (like me!) choose to burn their candles each evening. On the first Sunday of Advent we will light the candle of hope. On the second Sunday we light the candle of peace. On the third Sunday, the candle of joy. On the fourth, love. Come Christmas Eve, we will light the fifth candle. The fifth candle symbolizes the light of Christ that has come into the world. Once this final candle is lit, our feast begins–12 days of it! So put on your stretchy pants and break out the good china, for Christ is come.
In hope, peace, joy, love, and Christ,
Allen M. Junek, Seminarian-in-Residence
Liturgical Notes for Advent
The first Sunday of Advent (November 29) will be marked by the chanting of the Great Litany as we mark the beginning of this season of watchful waiting and expectation.
We will mark each of the four Sundays of Advent by lighting the candles of our Advent wreaths.
In place of a Gloria or Kyrie, we will bid the ancient words of the Trisagion, “Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us!”
And there will be a different “Prayers of the People” adaptation appropriate for each of the Sundays as well!
Hopefully these different acts and symbols of liturgy will help lead us deeper into our exploration and journey into the watchful wait for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God among us!
