What Shall We Do With Advent?

For many churches, this is the week to confront the annual question, "Shall we sing Christmas carols during Advent or not?" All around us, the world is celebrating Christmas with "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock" on the radio, Christmas-themed movies in the theatres, office parties, school music concerts, television ads and special programs, hauling out the decorations, putting up the tree, downtown city lights, buying and wrapping gifts, and so much more. Even in the church we have Sunday school class parties, staff parties, decorations, concerts, programs, and services — all before December 25. But for many churches, the tension comes every year over whether or not to sing Christmas carols before Christmas.

Those who resist argue for preserving the integrity and meaning of Advent. They say that by jumping immediately into "Joy to the World" on the first Sunday in December, we miss the message of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." They want to experience the themes and practices of Advent, unconfused by the themes and practices of Christmas. They believe that Christmas cannot truly be Christmas for us unless we have first experienced Advent. Congregations that mix the two can only experience theological and liturgical confusion.

To help us remember and preserve the integrity and purpose of the meaning and themes of Advent, consider the following:

1. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming." During Advent, we prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ into the world; and we celebrate in various ways how this happens.
2. Christ continually comes to us in the Word and Spirit. We herald that coming by reading the words of Scripture and hearing the Word proclaimed in sermon and song.
3. During Advent, we are to prepare for the coming of Jesus. Historically, the church has done this through a time of fasting rather than feasting. There is a degree of seriousness and austerity to Advent that prepares us for the unbounded joy of Christmas. Advent as a Christian observance has been with us since it first appeared in France in the fourth century. It was originally a preparatory period of fasting and penitence that led to Christmas.
4. One central theme of Advent is that of longing — we are to reenact and experience again Israel's longing for the coming of the Messiah, fully expecting but still waiting for it.
5. The liturgical calendar sets specific themes for each Sunday of Advent. These are not the themes that many churches use today: hope-peace-joy-love, or John-Elizabeth-Joseph-Mary, or some similar scheme. These themes have become so commonplace that many Christians believe that these patterns of observance have a long tradition in the church; when in reality, these are modern inventions, made all the easier with the now almost universal practice of lighting candles in an Advent Wreath as part of worship — also a modern invention. The historical and traditional themes for the Sundays in Advent are:
   1. First Sunday: The final return of Christ in victory; the Second Coming
   2. Second and Third Sundays: John the Baptist, his role, his words, his teachings
   3. Fourth Sunday: tThe events immediately preceding Jesus' birth
6. Advent is rich in symbolism and art. The traditional color is purple, although blue is now being used in some churches for paraments, stoles, banners, and Advent Wreath candles. Other symbols include the Chrismon tree with its white monograms, the Jesse tree, Advent calendars, trumpets (for Isaiah), the messianic rose, star of Jacob, and fleur-de-lis.

The United Methodist Hymnal, The Faith We Sing, The Upper Room Worshipbook, and Worship & Song all contain hymns, songs, responses, prayers, liturgies, and other resources for Advent. Others are available for free on the Discipleship Ministries’s web site.

• Advent Music and Lyrics at Music Downloads
• Advent Wreath Meditations
• Services and Liturgies
• Articles and Resources for Advent

Sources:

• Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions.Keith Crim, General Editor. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981.
• The United Methodist Book of Worship.Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1992.