What is Advent all about? Everyone knows what Christmas is – even if they don’t believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. But what about Advent? While the Advent season may be familiar to many Christians, others view it simply as a long introduction to Christmas. So what is Advent all about?
The four Sundays in Advent each have a theme – Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Each of these builds up to the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas. So how do these themes tie together, and how do they bring us to the celebration of the Nativity?
Advent Brings Hope
The word “hope” is easily misunderstood, because it can have different meanings depending on the context. To say that I “hope” something happens means that I’d like for it to occur, but I’m not really confident about it. Last weekend, we began driving back to Florida from celebrating Thanksgiving with our family in Wisconsin. I “hoped” that the weather would cooperate! It did, but I wasn’t holding my breath.
For Christians, however, the word “hope” takes on a much deeper meaning. Because our “hope” is grounded in Christ, and ultimately in God’s goodness, we are very confident about it! When God promises something, He always delivers! The focus on hope on the first Sunday of Advent is grounded in God’s promises in the Old Testament to send His Messiah to deliver His people.
But the theme of hope also points us forward to Jesus’ promise that He will return to earth. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be” (John 14:3). During the Advent season, we do not only look back to Jesus’ birth. We also look forward to His ultimate return to establish God’s forever Kingdom. That is the ultimate ground of Christian hope!
Peace
“Peace” is another word that has varying degrees of meaning. In the global context, peace often means just an absence of open conflict. For example, there may not be active war between Israel and Gaza, but few would describe the situation as “peace.”
In the Biblical sense, however, “peace” means much more. To be at peace implies wholeness in our relationship with God and with our fellow man. That is the kind of peace that the Messiah – the Prince of Peace – brings. “And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
The coming of the Messiah’s Kingdom brings peace because He is “in charge.” So much of our lack of peace comes from our desire to be in control. The problem is that when we are in control, we are responsible for the results of our decisions. History – both global and personal – shows the problem: we aren’t capable of being in control, and we know it! So things turn out badly, and we are troubled by our circumstances. But when acknowledge the authority of the Prince of Peace, He gives us His peace! His guidance is always right; when we follow His leading, we can trust the results.
Joy
“Joy” is one emotion that many people would identify with Christmas. “And so the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people’” (Luke 2:10). Again, though, the Biblical understanding of “joy” goes much further than the typical human understanding. We tend to equate “joy” with happiness. However, in the Biblical sense, “joy” is more akin to a deep assurance that God is in control and that He is good.
In Isaiah 9, the prophet points forward to the coming of the Messiah. We’ve already seen that He will be called Prince of Peace (verse 6). However, earlier in the passage, Isaiah talks about light: “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. You will multiply the nation, You will increase their joy; they will rejoice in Your presence as with the joy of the harvest, as people rejoice when they divide the spoils” (Isaiah 9:2-3).
Joy comes from God’s presence. Advent reminds us that God is present in the person of Immanuel – “God with us.”
- “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
- “’Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23)
- “The angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35).
Advent Brings Love
The final theme of Advent is love – another word with vastly differing meanings and interpretations. From the world’s perspective, “love” means letting someone do whatever they want. However, God loves us far too much to leave us in our fallen state! God’s love – the ground of everything that can rightly be called love – is a self-giving love.
- “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
- “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Advent brings us to Christ’s nativity – the ultimate act of love on God’s part. He willingly sent His Son to die for us. Jesus willingly left the Father’s side to come and be God-with-us. He willingly went to the cross as the sacrifice for our sins. And because it cost God so much to reconcile us to Himself, He is not willing to settle for anything less that His best for us.
Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love
Hope, peace, joy, and love – the themes of the Advent season. Let’s try not to rush through Advent just to “get to Christmas.” As we walk through this season, let’s focus on those themes.
Hope – the assurance that just as Jesus came to be God-with-us, so He will come again!
Peace – the reminder that true peace comes from the Prince of Peace, and our submission to His authority.
Joy – as Isaiah wrote, we rejoice in God’s presence. Jesus came to be God-with-us Immanuel so we could rejoice in His presence!
Love – Advent, and Christmas, remind us of the depths of God’s love for us. As we celebrate the season and think of those whom we love, let’s also intentionally look for the ways that God has shown His love for us!
And in the true spirit of Christmas, let’s show that kind of love to others!
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