Dear Redeemer Family,
This coming Sunday, November 28, 2021, our little parish turns five years old and we begin a new liturgical year with the season of Advent.
Now, Advent is a profoundly misunderstood and mis-practiced season. It somehow has become just popular enough for “Advent” to be a familiar word for many of us. Up until just a few years ago, I thought Advent was simply a season to get ready for Christmas. This made sense to me. Christmas is a big deal. Without the incarnation of Christ as a human child, there would be no cross, no resurrection, no church, no salvation. However, in recent years I’ve come to understand that, while Christmas is essential, the purpose of Advent is so much bigger than preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Advent is not only a backwards look to the first coming of Christ, it is a forward look towards the second coming of our Lord to judge and renew all things. This means that the discipleship purpose of Advent is not to turn us backwards in reflection and nostalgia, but rather to lift our gaze to the horizon and turn our attention to the future with fearful anticipation - calling us to wake up, to be attentive, to keep watch for Christ the King.
Therefore, as we enter this season together as a church family, we will be walking through an Advent sermons series titled A Voice in the Wilderness. We will be examining the person and vocation of John the Baptist in the Gospel of Luke as a means of understanding our vocation as a church—to be that Voice in the Wilderness of our age—crying out and proclaiming the redemption of Jesus.
So friends, as this Advent season begins, enjoy the traditions, nostalgia, and cozy goodness of preparing for Christmas festivities. Our Lord loves a good party and we are right to celebrate His birth! However, let’s be careful not to give all our attention and energy to December 25th. Let’s set aside both time and emotional space to be still and wait—leaning with all our being (mind, body, and soul) towards the future coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Let’s keep watch together.
In the Father’s love,
