I can remember as I was growing up (some would say I missed growing up actually) that it was an important part of our Christmas Church tradition to have the Advent Wreath on the altar at the front of the church. This wreath would have 4 candles attached to the wreath itself, with one in the middle. Every sunday morning there would be a reading and a candle lit. If it was the second, third or fourth weeks then the previous week(s) candle(s) would already be lit at the start of each service. The only service that started without any candles already burning was the first week.
The fifth candle in the centre, often called the “Christ Candle” was reserved for either the Christmas Eve service or the Christmas Day service, depending on if there was an extra service on either of those days or if Christmas day actually fell on a Sunday.
It was always something I looked forward to. Not because I’ve always been a bit of a pyro, but because it was just one of those rituals that for me, gave meaning to the Christmas season. As I grew older I was always hopeful that I would get to do a reading and light a candle. It happened at least once. When I went into the ministry it remained a traditional ritual for me and for the church I was serving at the time.
I haven’t been to church at Christmastime for quite a number of years now, let alone seen an actual Advent Wreath. So since I have always loved the ritual I thought that it would be nice to have a virtual Advent Wreath with a candle being lit every sunday starting today, December 1 and continuing until Christmas Eve.
Some history on the Advent Wreath: The Advent Wreath is a popular symbol of the season and has its roots in the pagan rituals during the winter solstice. As with many of the pagan rituals and symbols as the Christian Church made its way into a particular society the former attachment would be lost and a new one formed so that there would be a continuity or resemblance from the old ways to the new. The meaning of the wreath has changed so that the four candles interspersed around the wreath now represent the coming of Jesus with the centre candle representing the birth day of Jesus.
Now anyone knowing any history will know scholars have now pinned the birth day of Jesus not to December 25, but to another day in the year depending on which calendar you use. December 25 was also formerly a pagan celebration called Yule. You can find out more HERE or just by doing some historical digging using Google.
HOPE: The first candle to be lit during the Advent season represents HOPE. The Bible verse often associated with this reading is Isaiah 9:2:
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.”
If ever our world needed hope it is now. I don’t believe for a second that we as a species are beyond hope as some would say. I don’t believe for a second that this is a place filled with evil people. I don’t for a second even believe that this is a time of deep darkness. This is a message that the mass media sends us because it need to use the most sensational to keep viewership up.
I believe that this is a time of a great awaking actually. I choose to believe that we are living in a very enlightening age! Never has this planet had the ability to accumulate so much data in a few moments that 100 years ago the average person couldn’t accumulate in one year. Never has this planet had the knowledge and desire to see that it is time for us as a race to wake up and smell the roses on a planet that is dying from our misuse. Never has there been a time when we can actually know intuitively and experientially that we must wake up!
Yes it’s true, governments and leaders filled with corruption, including those in free countries, are falling. Yes it’s true that the economic systems of many countries are failing. Yes it’s true that systems we have come to rely on no longer serve us. GOOD! It is time! It is time that we let go of the old and bring in the new. It is the only way we can actually fix our world. I can remember a popular expression that the entrenched church people would use, “We have always done it this way!”, to which I reply “And how’s it working for you?”
A world that is based on power and money has led us to see what corruption really is. How many more times does history need to teach us this? It is time to show that we can actually create a world of hope. I believe that now, as I write this, more than I’ve ever believed it. I see around me a world that is hungering for a new way of being. a new way of living, a new way of honouring the planet and its occupants that we have been given to care for.
Call me Pandora and tell me to take off my rose-coloured sunglasses! But isn’t this the message that Jesus wanted us to get? Isn’t this the lesson that he taught over and over? Isn’t it the same message that hundreds of teachers before and since have also taught? Look around us. We have at our disposal a vast amount of free technology that my parents never had access to. We have so many tools that can affect everyone on the planet. But that affect must begin with me, with you. Do you live with HOPE?
Advent: Week 1 - HOPE
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