Advent Hope
Waiting between the already and the not-yet
Here we sit, on the precipice of Advent, just beginning our descent into the season. Today marks the first of four weeks of waiting in collective hope for the day we assume will arrive on December 25, like it does every year.
In fact, it is our assumed certainty of the arrival of Christmas that so often lulls us into complacency. It is difficult to actively wait when the outcome feels sure. Let’s celebrate now! It is difficult to hope when we feel certain now. We know Jesus has been born. We’ve read the book. We know the story. He’s already finished what was begun at the Incarnation, right? No need to sit in the darkness; turn on the lights and rejoice!
But Advent reminds us that we do, still, sit in the darkness, waiting for the culmination of the work begun at the Incarnation, or rather, continued in the Incarnation. The work of reconciling all things to Himself began in the garden at the beginning and will continue until the garden at the end. The Tree of Life bookends the whole of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, and the stories between chronicle the light in the darkness, and God’s reconciling work, of dwelling with mankind both now and forevermore.
So in Advent we wait. We wait with Mary for Christ to be born, even as we wait for the fruit of the Holy Spirit to be born in us. We wait with the Israelites for reconciliation and redemption, even as we wait to be reconciled to God and one another and be redeemed. We wait with the whole northern hemisphere in the darkness for the days to lengthen, even as we wait for the day when Christ himself will be the light and darkness will be no more. And we do all of this with the hope of one who believes it is as certain as the Christmas that will come on December 25th.
The Word Fleshed Out
Advent comes from advenire, which in turn comes from ad + venire. Ad means "to, toward" and venire means "to come" which places advenire solidly in the realm of coming to, coming toward, coming near. It is quite often translated as "to arrive." It is related to the "come" in O Come, O Come Emmanuel, however that song was originally written in Latin, with the lyrics Veni, Veni Emmanuel, so there's a shift from that veni to the adveni of Advent.
Technically, Advent comes from the masculine perfect passive participle, adventus, meaning "having arrived" (referencing a masculine subject - in this case, Jesus), indicating that Advent is something we look back on with certainty, as something that has already happened. Because it is passive, it also echoes not just having arrived, but having been sent. There is a hint that, though Jesus was a willing agent in his arrival, he was also acted upon by the will of another. The fiat of Mary is echoed in the unheard fiat of Jesus, who says "Thy will be done." However, there is also a 4th declension noun formed from this participle (the noun is also adventus, identical to the participle) that means "an arrival, an approach." In this context it could reference a past, present, or future coming, which is part of what is felt in the waiting of Advent.
In the Roman world, the noun adventus referred to the ceremonial arrival of a ruler to a city. Often, the ceremonial imagery depicted the ruler as a god, and the arrival of the ruler was thought to bring peace and salvation to the town. How fitting, then, that we use this Roman word to refer to the arrival of Christ.
The word nerd in me just loves the already-and-not-yet aspect of adventus being shared in form between past participle and noun, as well as the active translation of a passive participle suggesting both active and passive roles of Christ's incarnation. It’s a much richer word than we often give it credit for being.
Advent: Week 1
This is the first week of Advent. Over the next four weeks I’ll share some of our Advent practices. I’ve found that it requires a fair amount of intentionality to hold the holly-jolly hustle and bustle of the Christmas season at bay if we want to hold space for Advent to be its own season.
One of the things that we, and many others, do is work our way through some Advent guides. I particularly love resources that include literature or poetry as part of the reflection for the week or day. Some of my favorite Advent resources are listed below:
Waiting on the Word by Malcolm Guite (A poem a day for Advent)
Light upon Light by Sarah Arthur (A literary guide to prayer for Advent)
Hallelujah by Cindy Rollins (Advent with the Scripture and music of Handel’s Messiah)