In some ways, Advent is similar to Lent. Priests are wearing purple, we are anticipating a big feast, but holding out for some weeks in preparation. But is Advent a time for penance? Though it is not formally a penitential season as Lent is, historically, it has been a time for fasting in preparation for Jesus’ coming.
Yesterday we looked at Luke Chapter 3, talking about preparing the way for Jesus by giving ourselves to others. Today in chapter 4 of Luke’s Gospel, we’ll look at penance as a way to prepare.
Jesus is Tempted in the Desert
“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry.”
Right after his Baptism, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus to the desert. Here Jesus undergoes temptation, again showing us by example how we can overcome evil with the help of the Holy Spirit from our baptisms.
The three temptations that the Devil presents to Jesus are food, power over earthly kingdoms, and challenging God by putting him to the test. These are all struggles that Moses and the people of Israel had in the desert for 4o years, and they are struggles that we face today. However, through sacraments, prayer and fasting, these can be overcome.
Forty days in the desert was not only time to fight evil, but it was also a preparation for bringing the Good News to the world. This prepared Jesus for his mission to minister to the people which he begins to do right away later in this chapter.
Using Advent to Prepare for Jesus
We want the world to be the best it can be for Jesus to arrive at Christmas and the end of time. Also, we want ourselves to be tidy and the best we can be for Jesus to arrive in our lives when we receive him at Christmas, or Sunday mass, or in our day to day lives.
Therefore, we want to prepare with confession during Advent. Even more, we can try to fast from something as we do in Lent in order to fix our minds and lives more on Christ.
So while Advent is no longer a formal penitential season, it once had more fasting days with in and a more similar feeling as Lent.
Popular Piety and How We Can Live Advent
A 2001 document from the Vatican about popular piety at the time lists out ways that people have carried on the values through traditions in the liturgical year. In the section on Advent, there are several traditions that help us stay focused on Christ rather than all of the commercialization around us.
“Popular piety intuitively understands that it is not possible coherently to celebrate the birth of him “who saves his people from their sins” without some effort to overcome sin in one’s own life, while waiting vigilantly for Him who will return at the end of time.”
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, December 2001 (105)
There is an understanding that if we are thinking so much about Jesus coming to saves us from sin, we should be preparing for that reality by cleansing ourselves.
In Advent, like in Lent, we can say no to pleasures of this world, or power, or control. This helps us recognize who is really in charge, He who is on his way at Christmas. In a way we are nesting this season. Like a mother awaiting her newborn baby, we are preparing for the newborn king. We want to prepare and keep a clean house for Christmas and onward. In a word, we want conversion as we wait in hope.
Waiting, Conversion, and Joyful Hope
I like this description of Advent from that same document above, “Advent is a time of waiting, conversion, and hope.” (96)
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