God works in time. The Jewish prophets knew this. However faithless their people, however dark and desolate their land, they believed God was at work. God’s kingdom was coming.

Christianity knows this, too. The sower’s seed grows in time; the field has a treasure to be found, servants have gifts to trade til their master’s return. God’s plan unfolds in time. “In the fullness of time God sent his Son.” (Galatians 4:4) 

However, we get tired waiting and, like the servants in the parable, we fall asleep.

Feasts and seasons waken us. The four weeks of Advent and the days of Christmas and Epiphany waken us to the presence of God, who is within and around us. Advent begins a holy time. Let’s welcome it.  “Today if you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.” 

What message awakens us?  Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, true God and true man, born of a woman, revealed to all people, has come to save our world. He came once and he will come again “to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.” 

We’re slow to know the mysteries of God, however. (Luke 24:25) Only little by little, as time goes by, does an awareness come that can” ransom the time being from insignificance.” (W.H. Auden)

What to look for in Advent and Christmas?

Mary of Nazareth, John the Baptist and the Prophet Isaiah point out the significance of Advent time and the great feasts of  Christmas and Epiphany. Listen first to Isaiah, a priest in the temple in eighth century Jerusalem, when powerful Assyrian armies ravaged the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In the worst of times he had a message of hope.

God came to him in a vision in the temple’s Holy of Holies (Isaiah 6) and Isaiah was overwhelmed by a Presence more powerful than any on earth. Human plans and schemes were not the answer, he realized; reliance on God was. No matter how bad the times, God is “Emmanuel,” “God with us.”

This was Isaiah’s message then, and it’s still his message today. 

“I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ ‘Here I am,’ I said; ‘send me!’” (Is: 6:8) 

Isaiah’s prophecies pervade the Sundays and weekdays of Advent time, beginning with the first week. They may seem unreal to us, as they must have seemed to those who first heard them when Assyrian armies were laying waste to Palestine. Will all nations  stream toward the mountain of the Lord’s house, laying down their arms of war and seeking wisdom?  Will all peoples, all nations, all races ever live in harmony and peace? 

John the Baptist, Mary of Nazareth and Joseph, her husband speak from the 2nd week of Advent till Christmas, announcing this mystery.  

Today, in our splintered world, the promise of Advent seems an impossible dream, but this holy time revives and expands our hope, not just hope for ourselves and those dear to us, but hope for the whole world. God loves the world and sent his Son to save it. Hard to imagine, but God’s kingdom to come will bring our world and all creation peace.

Sin is behind the fragmentation of our world, but sin is destroyed by God’s grace. ‘The grace of God has appeared,” the Child born to us is our Savior and Lord. “He will come to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” The peaceable kingdom, seemingly impossible, is not impossible for God.

Advent and Christmas time ends with the Feast of the Epiphany and the Baptism of Jesus, who manifests himself to the gentiles and calls all nations into his kingdom. Our calendar continues into Lent, Easter and Pentecost, where the great mysteries of God are further revealed. 

Where did Advent and Christmas come from?

Where did Advent and the two great feasts expressing its meaning, Christmas and Epiphany, come from? “Advent” is a word revealing different aspects of God’s plan. It announces the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, born “in human likeness.’ His birth is also an epiphany, a revelation of God. Finally, Advent announces the final coming of the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ. 

In the Roman Catholic Church an Advent season preparing for the Feast of Christmas is first mentioned in Roman documents from the middle of the 6th century. Earlier sources from 336 cite only the Feast of Christmas, days for  celebrating Lent, Easter, Pentecost and commemorations of martyrs and other saints, so the days of Advent were added afterwards to the Catholic calendar. 

In our present calendar, Advent is the four weeks before Christmas. An expanded  selection of readings and prayers focus on the twofold coming of Jesus Christ. This season is rich in customs and practices that bring out the significance of this season for even the least. The Advent wreath, the Christmas tree, the Christmas crib, the Christmas carols and music– all contribute to the beauty and meaning of the Advent season. 

Internet Resources

Liturgical Calendar: http://www.usccb.org/calendar/

Liturgical Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/liturgy/

New American Bible: Revised Edition:

 http://www.usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/

Overview of Isaiah:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Isaiah&ch=