Advent and the end of all things
For someone who grew up with Advent as simply 4 more weeks of Christmas, the readings in the Common Lectionary can be somewhat surprising. The Lectionary provides an order of readings for Sundays, used by many denominations—Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, etc. It reflects the church seasons, and the choice of texts for each week is one of the primary ways that many Christians interact with the church calendar.
So when Advent comes along and the readings are about the end of the world, that can be a bit odd.
Advent is not simply a longer span of time to enjoy eggnog lattes, Silent Night and Christmas trees. (Though I do enjoy those, a lot.) It's also a time for us to fix our hope and longing on Christ's return.
As I said yesterday, Advent lets us speak our longing openly and plainly, by helping us fix it on Christ. One way this season does that is by reminding us that all the things around us are going to fade away.
We know very little about what it will be like when Christ returns—but we do know that it will be very different. So different that the things which obsess and worry us now will not even be on the radar.
Advent is a time to breathe deeply, and remember that the Gospel frees us not only from our sins but from our fears and fixations as well.
We take to heart the words of the apostle John:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15-17
