I received this photo just before Christmas 2017 from friends at Jimmy\u2019s Bazaar in East Jerusalem. BYU\u2019s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies \u2014 you can see it here in the upper left, with the tower of the Augusta Victoria Hospital to its right \u2014 had just turned on its Christmas lights for the first time that year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a column that Bill Hamblin and I published in the Deseret News<\/em> back on 15 December 2012:<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many Western Christians observe a season called \u201cAdvent\u201d (from the Latin \u201cadventus\u201d or \u201ccoming\u201d) during the month before they celebrate Jesus Christ\u2019s Nativity at Christmas. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Dec. 25 and opens the liturgical year in the Moravian, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican and Roman Catholic calendars. (Eastern Christian communions celebrate a rough equivalent of Advent called the \u201cNativity Feast,\u201d but its role and function differ somewhat.)<\/span><\/p>\nLatin \u201cadventus\u201d is equivalent to the Greek term \u201cparousia,\u201d which commonly refers to Christ\u2019s Second Coming. Not coincidentally, therefore, Advent celebrations typically anticipate his glorious return in addition to commemorating his birth in Bethlehem. Just as ancient Jews longed for the coming of the Messiah, modern Christians yearn for his Second Advent. For this reason, some theologians call Advent \u201cthe season of already\/not yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAdvent isn\u2019t biblical \u2014 the first plain references to it appear late in the sixth century \u2014 and it surely isn\u2019t required for salvation. But then, the same can be said of virtually every one of our Western Christmas traditions. And, amid the high-pressure commercialism and rat race of contemporary Christmas observance (if that\u2019s really the word for what our society does), it seems a pretty good way of preparing spiritually for what is, after all, a supremely spiritual and religious holiday (i.e., \u201choly day\u201d).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nVarious Advent candles, calendars, and wreaths are used to mark the season and to mark off its days as they pass, as are different colors (e.g., in candles and vestments) \u2014 notably purple, blue, and, sometimes, rose.<\/span><\/p>\nThe ecclesiastical Latin hymn \u201cVeni, veni, Emmanuel\u201d is a metrical version, in seven verses, of part of the vespers or evening liturgy for the final week of Advent. Its origins are unclear, but the text goes back in some form or another to at least the 12th century, and possibly to the eighth. It\u2019s based on the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 that God will give Israel a child symbolically called \u201cImmanuel\u201d (literally, \u201cGod with us\u201d), which Matthew 1:23 says was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. The music appears to come from a 15th-century processional hymn for French Franciscan nuns, although it, too, may have eighth century origins in a Gregorian chant.<\/span><\/p>\nThe lyrics also echo a number of other prophetic themes. The \u201cRod of Jesse\u201d refers to the prophecy in Isaiah 11:1 concerning the father of David and the Davidic messiah. The term \u201cDayspring\u201d stems from a prophecy given by Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and recorded in Luke 1:78. The reference to the \u201cKey of David\u201d is inspired by Isaiah 22:22 (\u201cthe key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder\u201d), which in turn refers to Isaiah 9:6 (\u201cthe government shall be upon His shoulder\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\nIn the 19th century, John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin translated this medieval liturgical hymn into English as \u201cO Come, O Come, Emmanuel\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cO come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cO come, thou Wisdom from on high, who ordered all things mightily. To us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cO come, thou Rod of Jesse, freethine own from Satan\u2019s tyranny. From depths of hell thy people save,and give them victory over the grave.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cO come, thou Dayspring, come and cheerour spirits by thine advent here. Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death\u2019s dark shadows put to flight.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cO come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home. Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cO come, O come, great Lord of might,who to thy tribes on Sinai\u2019s heightin ancient times once gave the lawin cloud and majesty and awe.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cO come, Desire of Nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind. O, bid our sad divisions cease and be yourself our King of Peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nIn the Roman Catholic Church, two verses of the hymn are sung each week of Advent, beginning with verses one and two on the first Sunday. On the second Sunday, verses three and four are sung and, on the third, verses five and six. Finally, on the last Sunday, congregations sing the first and seventh verses.<\/span><\/p>\nIn their hope for Christ\u2019s return, modern Christians echo the messianic dream of ancient Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Here\u2019s a column that Bill Hamblin and I published in the Deseret News back on 15 December 2012: \u00a0 Many Western Christians observe a season called \u201cAdvent\u201d (from the Latin \u201cadventus\u201d or \u201ccoming\u201d) during the month before they celebrate Jesus Christ\u2019s Nativity at Christmas. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Dec. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2538,2517,1369],"class_list":["post-67905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-advent","tag-christmas","tag-jesus"],"yoast_head":"\n
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