What is Advent?
Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for Christ to be born anew in us, and to recommit ourselves to following Jesus at the beginning of another Church year. Share on XAdvent most commonly refers to the four Sundays prior to Christmas. Advent means a coming, and is from the Latin word adventus. In the Church, it is a time to prepare for the Nativity, or birth of Jesus Christ. The Latin word adventus is also used to translate the Greek word parousia which refers to Jesus’ second coming. Jesus’ first and second comings are integral to his purpose in coming at all, so we also prepare for his return even as we celebrate his birth. For this reason, you will find apocalyptic readings intermingled.
Advent Meditations and Devotional Journal
I created a series of meditations and a devotional journal for Advent, and you can get it FREE just for subscribing to my email list. [Sorry! This offer has expired.] Just fill the boxes in the menu to the right and click Subscribe.
The readings in the devotional journal use the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), which is a three-year cycle of weekly lessons used to varying degrees by many Protestant churches. The RCL is built around the seasons of the Church Year, which begins with Advent. Four lessons are provided for each Sunday and major feast day. During most of the year, the lessons are: a reading from the Old Testament, a Psalm, a reading from the Epistles, and a Gospel reading. During the season of Easter, the Old Testament lesson is replaced with one from the Acts of the Apostles.
Readings in this devotional are from Year C, which begins in December 2018.
Themes
Traditionally each week has a theme: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. For our purposes, the weeks are going to be Righteousness Willed, Righteousness Refined, Righteousness Enacted, and Righteousness Welcomed. They are connected though. Because we have hope in Christ, we are able to commit to righteousness with our will. Because God’s goal is peace, we are able to let ourselves be refined by the Holy Spirit. Because we experience joy in God’s presence, we respond with righteous living, and because God loved us and welcomes us into His family, we are able to respond to the author of love with welcome and hospitality that spills over onto others around us.
For each Advent Week, you will find five meditations around four different Bible passages. There are places to answer questions, reflect and journal, and even suggestions of things you might do in response.
The meditations may be done in any order, and spread across as many days as you desire. However, my suggestion is that you complete the readings in the days leading up to that Sunday of Advent and then look for ways to apply your insights in the week following. You will be reading in preparation for another Advent Sunday at the same time, so that each week melds into the next.
What Do You Think?
As you use the meditations, I would love to know what you think. You can let me know by leaving a comment below.