Big and glossy and loud and fast— that’s how this bent-up world turns. But God, when He came— He showed up in this fetal ball. He who carved the edges of the cosmos curved Himself into a fetal ball in the dark. . . . He gave up the heavens that were not even large enough to contain Him and let Himself be held in a hand. 

The mystery so large becomes the Baby so small, and infinite God becomes infant. The Giver becomes the Gift, this quiet offering. This heart beating in the chest cavity of a held child, a thrumming heart beating hope, beating change, beating the singular song you’ve been waiting for— that the whole dizzy planet’s been spinning round waiting for. 

Waiting.

Advent. It means “coming.”*

Each day of Advent, He gives you the gift of time, so you have time to be still and wait. Wait for the coming of the God in the manger who makes Himself bread for us near starved.

For the Savior in swaddlings who makes Himself the robe of righteousness for us worn out.

For Jesus, who makes precisely what none of us can but all of us want: Christmas.**

As we approach the ending of a year that flew by so fast we can’t keep up, stillness and peace and hope feel far away for many of us. Whether it’s simply the pace and chaos of life and the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, or if it’s entering into this season that just feels hard emotionally, physically, relationally, and maybe even spiritually. Maybe we’re grieving. Maybe this year looks different than any year before. Maybe there’s heartache. Maybe pain. Maybe financial strain or family strain. A lot of darkness and very little light. Or maybe just not enough time to reflect on the light. The holidays feel nothing like the silent night we all so desperately crave. 

For a lot of us who’ve grown up in the church, we celebrated Christmas but not the season of Advent in an intentional, reflective way. 

Advent means “coming,” as we just read from Ann Voskamp. But that idea didn’t originate with her. Advent has been a part of the Christian liturgical calendar for centuries. The first Sunday of Advent is technically the start of the Christian New Year, and it begins four Sundays before Christmas Day. So just like celebrating Christmas is important, celebrating the coming of Jesus in the weeks prior to Christmas is just as valuable to us. 

“[Advent] is a time of preparation leading to the appearance of the light . . . . During Advent, we make way for the coming of a Savior for whom the world is not worthy. And not only that, but also we brace ourselves for his coming again in judgment one day.”*** 

We reflect and rest in the coming of Jesus, God incarnate, Savior of the world. We reflect on the hope of His birth and what His life meant to us, what it means to us. On the faith we’re able to have because He came to earth. On the joy and hope restored to us through Him, the light of His life when darkness is prevailing. The peace that centers, that’s only found in it’s Prince. The love that never leaves, that never forsakes, that requires nothing in return. All because of His birth, his life, and his death and resurrection. 

But we sit between two Advents, the first coming of Jesus that we celebrate on Christmas morning, and His second coming, the one He promised. He promised to come again one day and make it all right. And we have the honor of sitting right in the middle. We can reflect on what His birth and life meant to us, and what His second coming will mean to us one day. 

This is why we celebrate Advent. 

We set aside time during the four weeks leading up to Christmas to reflect, to mourn what is needed and ground ourselves in the hope and light of Jesus Christ. To celebrate His birth and anticipate Him coming again.  

Many people also light the four candles of Advent each Sunday leading up to Christmas and the Christmas candle on Christmas Day. We light the first candle to represent our hope. The next week, we light the second candle, to represent our faith. The next, we light the third candle to represent our joy. Then our peace. And finally, we light the candle to represent love on Christmas Day. 

Though some do this a bit differently, and there is no wrong way, the counselors at Full Life have created a beautiful series of Advent readings for you to be able to remember your hope, renew your faith, find your joy, center in peace, and know you are loved this Christmas season to line up with the lighting of the five candles. 

We wrote and recorded these for you to be able to sit in a quiet posture and place and listen to the words spoken over you. There are also reflection questions for you to be able to sit longer with the content of each reading. You can listen to one each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas and one on Christmas Day and light candles with each one, or you can listen at your own pace whenever you have margin for stillness and silence with no candles at all. There’s no rules. These are just to bring you to a place of peace, of reflection, of hope and joy. The things you so desperately need and the needs that the coming of Jesus have already met for you. 

So if you’d like these five reflective and centering Advent readings to be your companion during this Advent season, you can purchase them now at here. We hope they bring light and healing into your life. Grab yours today before the first Sunday of Advent, November 27th, so you can begin listening.

References

*The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp. (pgs. Vii-viii)

**The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp. (Page x)

***Light upon Light, by Sarah Arthur. (Page 13)