The Gift of Advent
From my perspective, Christmas is the day that should be celebrated with brothers and sisters in Christ. Because of the incarnation of Christ, we have been able to know who God is and receive a new life. Therefore, Jesus’ birth can be connected to our birth of the new kind of living.
Christmas is a public holiday at the end of the year, usually celebrated with family time, exchanging gifts, and sending presents to one another. It can evoke different images of fairyland with a bright tree, wonderful gifts, food and sweets to young children. For young children, Santa Claus is an important figure who receives their letters and brings gifts, while older children might perceive Christmas as a time that families can be reunited. Family members spending quality time together plays a significant role in the family’s perception of Christmas. For many parents, Christmas is such a precious time that it makes all the planning effort worthwhile. They have to make sure that the family’s Christmas festive season is in the house before Christmas Day by decorating the Christmas tree, putting the stockings up on the fireplace, placing the garland on the front door and buying food for Christmas dinner. Christmas is recognised, for many in a country like Aotearoa, as the “biggest consumption event of the year.”
But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Christmas holds significant importance for the life of a Christian. It is the celebration day for the birth of Jesus Christ, and therefore, it is one of the world's transformational religious events. The Christmas story from the Christian perspective begins with the idea of human sin which separates humanity from God and brings death to the world (Rom 5:12-14). However, Jesus brings life to humanity by becoming one with humanity through his incarnation and birth. The story that Christians tell at Christmas is central to how we understand the relationship that humanity can have with the divine through the ongoing humanity of the incarnate Christ.
Before Christmas, there is the Advent season. The Church’s liturgical year encompasses the four Sundays following weekdays to the Christmas celebration. In other words, the Advent season is a preparation time for believers to reflect on Jesus’ birth at Christmas and what He has done for them. There are four candles to be lit where people have their reflection time. The candles represent hope, peace, joy, and love. The candle flames remind people of Jesus’ identity, as the Latin word “Advent” means coming or arriving, and so the candles indicate the coming light of the world, Jesus (John 1:3-5).
The hope candle symbolises the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus’ arrival. Isaiah prophesied Jesus’ coming seven centuries before His birth. Isaiah 11:1-2 states,
“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”
Although there was a tall tree in David’s royal house, the tall tree was cut down due to the war between the Israelites and their enemies. A tiny shoot sprouted from the decaying stump. Jeremiah prophesied that the little shoot was indicative of a messiah, the person of Jesus Christ. As Isaiah’s prophecy of tiny shoot implies that Jesus would come from a lowly background in future, Christmas is about celebrating Jesus’ birth, who was born in a manger.
Furthermore, He put His divinity aside and became the lowliest servant to switch places with the powerful position of humanity, to give us salvation, so that we could praise Him for eternity (Philippians 2:6-11). Living for eternity gives us the living hope (1 Peter 1:3-5). Although our inheritance in heaven will be revealed entirely at the second coming of Christ, our Christian lives on earth provide glimpses of heaven. Specifically, we can experience eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, even on earth. Jesus’ servanthood to become one of us to give us eternal life through faith in Him humbles me to have hope in Him, regardless of our current situation in the COVID world. Romans 8:29 states God has created us to bear the image of Christ to reflect Him on the earth; it also humbles me to apply the concept of servanthood in my life.
“Although living as the children of Light is challenging, it gives me freedom and peace.”
Advent is also a time to celebrate the ongoing presence of Christ in our lives. Isaiah prophesied that one of the messiah’s names would be Immanuel (Isa 7:14). “Immanuel” is in the Hebrew language, and it is translated as “God with us.” The name infers that Jesus is God in the form of a human being, He is with us until the end of the age, even if He left the earth and went to the heavenly realms when He was crucified and resurrected (Matt 28:20). Before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples (and us) that the Holy Spirit, also known as the Spirit of truth, will teach, guide into all truth, and remind all of His sayings (John 14:25-26; 16:7-13). This means that we can journey with Christ through the Holy Spirit if we believe in Him. I am a person with disabilities, but God’s presence assures me that if I have found my identity in Christ, I do not need to be afraid of things I cannot do. Following Christ is the most significant aspect of my life as He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7). Therefore, as Thomas Merton states, we can “celebrate the coming and indeed the presence of Christ in our world” in the Advent season.
Christmas is one of the social days where we can give gifts to one another. When we give gifts, we express sympathy and appreciation to one another without expecting anything in return. For example, the three Magi went to a baby Jesus to worship Him and pay Him homage with three different gifts as soon as they heard about Him (Matt 2:9-11; Luke 2:8-20). Since the older Jesus paid the ultimate price for humanity's eternal and abundant life by sacrificing Himself, Jesus is recognised to be the perfect Gift. Through the Gift of Jesus, we have been given the Scripture to know more about God and how we fit in His story. We also have been given the Holy Spirit as He teaches us how to read the Scripture and our story in the light of the scriptural story. Since I have a disability in speech, God has gifted me with writing. As I share the good news of Christ through writing to build others up it gives me incredible joy. However, writing for others also encourages me to be a better follower of Christ. Jason McNabb declares that “true joy comes not from parties or festive cheer but is found in the turning toward a new direction of patient obedience to God.”
As the angelic hosts from heaven brought the message of Jesus’ arrival on earth they revealed God’s incredible love towards humanity because Jesus would come to the earth to unite humanity and divinity in his person. For centuries, God sent the prophets to remind His people about the messiah, the perfect deliverer, and God waited for the right time to send Jesus into the world. Before He came into the world, John the Baptist was sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the way for Him in the world (Matt 3:1-3). John’s Gospel also indicates that the reason that Jesus came to the earth is that He wanted to illustrate that living as the children of Light is a better way of living and show us how to apply it into our lives (John 1:1-18; 3:1-21). In my experience of living as the children of Light, I found a new purpose of living. Although living as the children of Light is challenging, it gives me freedom and peace.
May Advent prepare our hearts for Jesus’ birth on Christmas, regardless of current situations! One of the ways I spend personal time with Jesus during Advent is through reading God’s word and devotionals. However, there are various ways we can spend time with Jesus during this Christmas season.
~
Kevin Byung Ki Park is a writer and student at Carey Baptist College - Te Kareti Iriiri o Carey.