What is Advent?
The word “advent” derives from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming.” During its earliest observances, Advent was 40 days of repentance, fasting, and prayer as new believers prepared for their baptisms. Often, these baptisms took place on Epiphany, a day remembering the Magi’s visit to baby Jesus; it was a celebration of Jesus’ incarnation on Earth.
Later, Christians began tying Advent both to Christ’s incarnation and the anticipated Second Coming of Christ. Advent became a period for renewing the anticipation and longing for Jesus’ return.
In our culture, the close ties to Christmas outweigh the anticipation of another “advent” of Jesus. We mingle the Christmas commemoration and the anticipation of Advent. Ignoring this “second coming” removes some of the urgency of our Christian call to enact God’s love and justice on Earth.
What do we mean by "Second Coming"?
Most Christian creeds of faith contain some derivation of the following statement:
“Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead.”
In The United Methodist Church, we affirm that Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead as a prelude to revealing the new creation. So when Christ returns, a renewed creation comes, too. This new creation is marked by the unity of Creator and Creation alluded to in the book of Genesis. In the New Testament, this renewed creation is aligned with freedom from death, sin, and decay. So, the renewed creation takes the shape of a world without the bounds of death, a new world freed from the systems and actions through which humans tear themselves apart from one another and from God.
There’s a lot of hope inspired by believing that such a world is possible. Join us Sunday for worship and begin your Advent journey of hope!
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