It can be confusing. Advent is a time of preparation where we focus on celebrating the anniversary of Jesus’ birth on Christmas, though the actual date is unknown. We also focus on the fact that we are waiting for Jesus to come again, at his “Second Coming,” so we are remembering the past, but also looking toward the future. Furthermore, when folks make comments about Advent being a time of waiting for Jesus to be born, in a sense they are saying that they are waiting for something that has already occurred, which can add to the confusion. Additionally, confusion can come in when someone, usually an atheist or agnostic, jumps in and says, “You know, Druids worshipped Christmas trees, so they don’t have ANYTHING to do with Jesus, so it’s all a bunch of malarkey.” What are we to think? Here it is in a nutshell: Advent is a time of preparation for the celebration of the anniversary of Christ’s birth, and for a drawing closer to him in preparing ourselves for his Second Coming.
As to the first point, Jesus was, and is, a real, living being. Yes, different than us in that he was fully human and fully divine, but a flesh and blood being that was born into our world. It can be easy to downplay that physicality, yet we know that Jesus was born. He actually lived, and died. Very few people, at any time in history, and in any place in the world, have ever disputed that. For believers, celebrating Jesus’ birth is a joyful celebration, even though we aren’t sure of the exact date. Wait! What? Yep. Like many things in antiquity, official records don’t make note of the exact day, but at least three theories exist as to why December 25th was chosen. (Tune in next week) One of the theories is due to the pagan sun celebrations that were taking place around the time of the Winter Solstice. It is said, rather than thwarting the celebrations completely, apostles redirected their focus. In converting hearts to Jesus, the message becomes, rather than worshipping the sun, turn your worship to the Son of God. Again, more next week.
In regard to the second point of focus, seeing Advent as a time of preparing ourselves for when Jesus returns is why Advent has always had a bit of a penitential nature, and why you’ll notice extra opportunities for the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation this time of year. As we have heard over the past few weeks, we “know not the hour,” so Advent provides us with many opportunities to remove obstacles and “ready ourselves” for the time when Jesus comes again. We also heard in last week’s gospel, Jesus telling his disciples to “be watchful” and “alert,” followed by today’s gospel, recalling John the Baptist telling those in the Judean countryside, and in Jerusalem, that they needed to “prepare the way of the Lord” through “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” His call to repentance is still relevant today. Just like those in John’s day, who were to prepare to hear Jesus’ message, we too, are to repent of our sins, and open our hearts to hear the Word of God.
In conclusion, I understand why confusion around the themes of Advent exists. I know it exists, because back in the day, I was among the confused! Whether looking back to Jesus’ birth, or into the future when he comes again, the fact that we have a season that points in two directions can be confusing! Tune in next week for more on the choice of December 25th as Jesus’ “birthday.”