Advent Perspective: Rediscovering Advent (Part 1)

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Rediscovering Advent
(Part 1)

By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:78-79 (NRSV)

Come, thou long expected Jesus
Born to set thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in thee.

From "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" by Charles Wesley

It is now the middle of the season of Advent.  Advent marks the beginning of the Church calendar, and, because my personal Bible studies are based on the Church calendar, for me it also marks the beginning of a new devotional journal.  As I noted recently, my usual reading plan tends to be rather repetitive, so, this liturgical year, I have decided to change things up a bit.  I have incorporated into my studies a book my mother gave me a couple of years ago, All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas.  This book was written by four Methodist seminary professors and church leaders.¹  I have also been listening to Advent sermons from various churches and incorporating them into my studies as well.

What I have especially enjoyed about my studies this Advent is encountering the stories associated with the season.  I also feel like I have gained some new perspectives on Advent in general.

A Time for Silence

At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, we read that one day a priest named Zechariah is chosen to burn incense in the temple.  While he is in the sanctuary, he is frightened when he suddenly sees a messenger of God standing by the incense altar.  The messenger says to the priest, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John."  The messenger goes on to tell Zechariah that his son will be "great in the sight of the Lord" and will be "filled with the Holy Spirit" even before he is born.  He will grow up to "turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God" and "make ready a people prepared for the Lord."²

Zechariah and Elizabeth have not been able to have children, and now they are both old, so Zechariah naturally has some trouble believing what the messenger has told him.  He says, "How will I know that this is so?  For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years."³

The messenger then says to Zechariah,

I am Gabriel.  I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.⁴

Zechariah emerges from the sanctuary, unable to speak.⁵

When we encounter this story, we might tend to think that Gabriel is punishing Zechariah with muteness for his disbelief.  I would like to suggest that maybe Gabriel is actually giving Zechariah what he needs the most at this time.  Maybe disappointment over never having a child has left Zechariah a bit jaded and cynical.  Maybe the stranger's news initially sounds like a cruel joke to him.  Maybe what Zechariah needs most is a season of silence, so that he has to watch God's plan unfold without giving voice to any of his negativity.

Perhaps, in spite of the hustle and bustle of this time of year, Advent is actually a good season for silence, especially for those of us who tend toward skepticism and pessimism.  Perhaps this season is a good time to adopt the practice of quieting such voices within ourselves so that we can see God at work in our midst.


A Time for Prayer

Zechariah's wife Elizabeth becomes pregnant, just as Zechariah was told, and nine months later she gives birth to a baby boy.  When the time comes to name the child, the family wants to name him after his father.  Elizabeth says that he is to be named John, but the family objects, since nobody else in the family has that name.  Zechariah motions that he wants something on which to write, and, when he is given a tablet, he writes, "His name is John."  Suddenly, after months of silence, Zechariah is finally able to speak once again.⁶

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Zechariah begins to prophesy.⁷  First he proclaims,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.⁸

Zechariah goes on to say to his newborn son,

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.⁹

Finally, Zechariah proclaims,

By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.¹⁰

Dr. Sangwoo Kim writes regarding the Canticle of Zechariah, which is also called Benedictus,

The lyrics of Benedictus are both Zechariah's and the Holy Spirit's words.  In this song, divine and human agency do not compete with each other; they are not mutually exclusive.  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can find our own words of prayer are not just ours; they are also God's words given to us.¹¹

It seems that there is more going on when we pray than we often think.

I recently learned that Zechariah's song has been used in the Church in daily prayer liturgy, along with two other songs from the Gospel of Luke that are commonly associated with Advent and Christmas.¹²  Kim writes,

We can learn how to pray by borrowing words from the church's prayers: the Lord's Prayer, Psalms, canticles, and liturgy.  Those borrowed words become ours, and they eventually become who we are.  Those who are experienced in prayer not only have acquired good habits of prayers but have been transformed by those words.¹³

During Advent, we hear a number of different prayers and proclamations of the season, making it a good time to spend some time praying and being formed by prayer.


A Time to Be Fruitful

Gabriel and Zechariah have both prophesied that something big is on the horizon and that Zechariah's son John will have a role to play in it.  John grows up to become a fiery prophet who ministers to people in the wilderness near the Jordan River.  He calls people to repent and invites them to be baptized in the river as a sign of their penitence.¹⁴

John says, to the people who come to him in the wilderness, "You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruits worthy of repentance."¹⁵  When people ask him what they should do specifically, he gives them some practical instructions.  He instructs people who have more than enough food and clothing to share with those who do not have enough; he instructs tax collectors to collect only what they are required to collect and no more; and he instructs soldiers to refrain from exploiting their authority and to be satisfied with their pay.¹⁶  Basically, John calls people to be merciful and just.

John Wesley, the founder of my particular branch of Christianity, urged people to bear two specific kinds of "fruits worthy of repentance."  The first kind of fruit consists of "works of piety" like prayer, Holy Communion, Bible study, and fasting.  The second kind of fruit consists of "works of mercy."  Some of these works meet people's physical and psychological needs like "feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, entertaining the stranger, visiting those that are in prison, or sick, or variously afflicted."  Others meet people's spiritual needs like "endeavouring to instruct the ignorant, to awaken the stupid sinner, to quicken the lukewarm, to confirm the wavering, to comfort the feeble-minded, to succour the tempted, or contribute in any manner to the saving of souls from death."¹⁷

Both works of piety and works of mercy are means of experiencing God's grace.  Dr. Laceye Warner writes,

Practicing the means of grace is similar to tending a garden...  The gardener participates in the cultivation of the growth and fruit.  However, the miracle of the seed, its growth, and its fruit come from God...  When we read biblical texts, pray in silence, worship, and serve together, we participate in God's reign while God pours out divine grace and love into our lives and the world.¹⁸

Advent is a good time to draw close to God through works of piety and to serve others through works of mercy.


Advent is meant to be a time when we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of our Lord at Christmas.  I'm learning that there are many ways we can prepare ourselves this season.  We can prepare ourselves by quieting ourselves, especially the voices of negativity within us.  We can prepare ourselves by spending time in prayer and allowing our prayers to transform us.  We can prepare ourselves by being fruitful - by drawing close to God and by serving people in need.


Notes:

1. Laceye Warner, Amy Valdez Barker, Jung Choi, and Sangwoo Kim.  All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas.  2021, Abingdon Press.
2. Luke 1:8-17 (NRSV)
3. Luke 1:7, 18 (NRSV)
4. Luke 1:19-20 (NRSV)
5. Luke 1:21-22
6. Luke 1:24, 57-64 (NRSV)
7. Luke 1:67
8. Luke 1:68-71 (NRSV)
9. Luke 1:76-77 (NRSV)
10. Luke 1:78-79 (NRSV)
11. All the Good, p. 54
12. ibid.
13. All the Good, p. 56
14. Luke 3:2-3
15. Luke 3:7-8 (NRSV)
16. Luke 3:10-14
17. John Wesley.  Sermon 43: "The Scripture Way of Salvation."
18. All the Good, p. 38

The photograph of the Advent wreath was taken by me in 2014 at Bethel United Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina.