Advent season: “Time as a gift of mercy”
Last Sunday marked the beginning of the Advent season according to the
Church calendar. Advent is a call to followers of Christ to remember the birth of the Savior. The word advent comes from a Latin word that means “coming” or “arrival.” The season begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and, depending on the year, can range from 22 to 28 days. Its purpose is to help believers remain focused on the birth of Christ and his glorious return.
The Advent season is divided into four weeks, and each week features a different liturgical theme. Traditionally, the first week remembers the hope and expectation of the Jewish people as they looked forward to the Savior’s arrival and it also reminds believers today to wait expectantly for Jesus’ second coming. The second week focuses on preparation: Over many centuries, God prepared the hearts of the Jews for Christ’s coming, just as He is now working in our hearts to prepare us for his second coming. The third week joyfully celebrates the coming of the Messiah, and the final week celebrates God’s peace and love.
We are now in a week of preparation. In our day today life some of us are
buying clothes, beautifying homes and preparing to travel upcountry and
abroad. To us it is a time of reunion with our wider families, to some it is the only time we can have meals with our aging parents. It is an expensive season for most of us. Some of us get highly stressed because of unrealistic demands from family members. These are all good preparations but they are not beneficial. For children it is about Santa clause.
Peter in his second letter, advised the believers not to overlook the second
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He reminded them not to think the Lord is
slow to come but he is waiting for the sinners to repent. The day of the Lord
will come like a thief and many who will not have lived in a preparatory mode, will miss heaven. All the things that we treasure while in this life will pass away, they will be dissolved, burned and exposed. A new heaven and a new earth will appear which will take only the righteous who have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb (2 Peter 3: 8-13).
Preparation requires self-examination to be sure that we are living in holiness and godliness. In this world of politics many of us have been contaminated because of the environment around us. Unnecessary wars and killings, imprisonment, hatred, selfishness, jealousy, open falsehood, pride and all manner of wickedness is all around us. The new age movement is being embraced by even those you consider as believers. Occultism and cultic teachings are spreading like fire, people claiming to be gods, prophets and prophetesses, aggressive search for wealth and material gain has dominated our lives. Both the young and the old are on rampage for materialism. This advent season calls us to create room in our hearts for the child Jesus to be born in us. The Jews failed to prepare and until now they are still waiting for the messiah to come and save them. The writer of Hebrews 9:28 says, so Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. May God bless us as we wait for his coming in glory.
The Very Rev. Canon Dr. Rebecca Nyegenye
PROVOST