“Christ is in our Midst.” Advent 2009

You’ve heard the name, “Immanuel,” right? It is a Hebrew word meaning, “God with us” (Is 7:14, 8:8, 10). Immanuel is a good summary of what we Christians celebrate during the Advent season. The term Advent is Latin for “Coming,” or “Arrival.” This is the season wherein we wait for the coming of the Messiah, “God with us.”

He came once and He is coming again. We celebrate this with the advent wreath of progressively lit candles.

The outer four represent the four Sundays of the Advent season, representing Hope (1), Peace (2), Joy (3), and Love (4). The center candle is the Christ candle, the light of the world. As they are lit week by week, our hearts burn in waiting for our coming Messiah. They are lit progressively to symbolize accumulating light, as the day of His coming draws nearer and nearer.

Advent is also about the beginning of hope which he brought near to us in His first coming. It is a celebration that “Christ is in our midst.” This became an ancient early church greeting to which another Christian would respond in kind, “He was, He is, and He always will be.”