Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
"Deck the halls!" Make a list, check it twice; trim the tree; and don't forget to enjoy those sweet treats in your Advent calendar! 'Tis the season...
Before autumnal festivities have even concluded, it seems the world begins to dive pocketbook-first into the goings-on of a premature and often chaotic iteration of some of the trimmings of Christmastime. The following will provide a glimpse into the season of Advent according to the Christian liturgical year. The Church calendar is the great composition of centuries of tradition which sings the praises of the Lord amidst seasons of varied particularity, unfolding the great drama of the Gospel before and within the assembled members of the Body of Christ; the rhythmic oscillations of its episodes of fasting and feasting accompany the steps whereby we dance the incarnational choreography of the Christian life, together with pedagogical meaning and transformational purpose. It is no trivial thing to proceed hand-in-hand with the Great Cloud of Witnesses through the thematic and symbolic scenes of the life of the Church catholic. In the continued effort to step on beat and sing in harmony with each other and the saints whose cues we seek to continue, we are gifted the opportunity of participating in both the illustrious celebration and austere discipline whereby all might be drawn to the True Beauty of that which was and is and is to come.
Advent: Expectation and Preparation
The annual liturgical observation known as "Advent" in Western Christianity (and the longer, more penitential "Nativity Fast" in the East) is "the first season of the church year, beginning with the fourth Sunday before Christmas and continuing through the day before Christmas. The name is derived from a Latin word for 'coming.' The season is a time of preparation and expectation for the coming celebration of our Lord's nativity, and for the final coming of Christ 'in power and glory'" (An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians). In this twilight of the Church's New Year, the beloved are directed towards the inaugural evangelical mystery of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, not yet with triumphal festivity, but in the modest posture of both expectation and preparation.
What, then, do we expect? And for what do we prepare?
The Second Person of the Triune Godhead entered into the humanity of Adam's race via the womb of the Blessed Virgin, the very personification of meekness, condescending to be born amidst social injustice, religious unrest, and imperial occupation; and, as the perfect sacrifice for the life of the world, submitted his life in obscure poverty and revolutionary faithfulness, subject to systemic marginalization, surrendering even unto public execution for our sake. Subsequently, having vanquished death and despoiled hell by the power of his Resurrection, this same God-man ascended into heaven and enthroned human flesh in the Heavenly Kingdom, departing with the promise that, in the fullness of time, he would "come again in glory to judge the living and the dead."
The liturgical season of Advent is one through which we trek together as the Assembly of the Faithful in great anticipation of both (1) the festal season of Christmastide, wherein we celebrate the birth of the incarnate Christ in human history, and (2) the promise of his Second Coming "in power and great glory," the inauguration of the Final Restoration of the cosmos. In his book For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, Fr. Alexander Schmemann (of blessed memory) states that "The One bringing the final meaning to the world has come; in the darkness of this world, the light of Christ reveals again the true nature of things. This is not the world it was before Christ came: His coming now belongs to the world. The decisive event of the cosmos has taken place. We know now that the event of Christ must transform everything to do with our lives... The darkness of sin is clarified, and its burden shouldered. Death is robbed of its finality, trampled down by Christ's death. In a world where everything that seems to be present is immediately past, everything in Christ is able to participate in the eternal present of God."
It is only within the context of the Eucharistic existence of the Church that we can, in the posture of our shared life in Christ, partake at the same time of both the first and second Advent of Jesus. The sacramental and mystical participation in this Divine activity evokes the active meditations and practices of expectation and preparation. Often observed as a subdued and contemplative season of penitence and reconciliation, not unlike the Lenten period preceding the glorious celebration of Eastertide, the meditations and practices of the Lord's Advent are typically characterized by their gravity, modesty, restraint, and discipline. Before addressing the scriptural and liturgical messages employed for the Church's collective meditation throughout Advent, it is worth noting that the practical implications of their thematic preservation appropriately include echoes of ascetic disciplines such as increased prayer, fasting, confession, repentance, and abstinence from excess. The inclusion of Advent in the lived pattern of Christian practice speaks for itself: from the darkened aesthetics of the worship space to its lectionary readings, Advent, reflecting Lent, prescribes an active refocusing of personal and corporate piety. One of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith is that descent is followed by ascent. The lowliness of his birth in a manger comes before Jesus' earthly ministry, his crucifixion precedes the Resurrection, and the expectant preparation of the Church's faithful repentance anticipates the ultimate Advent of the Lord on the Last Day.
It is in our prostration that we are lifted up.
