1st Sunday in Advent – Pastor Dan
Christmas is synonymous with Advent. Yet when we refer to this time of year, we call it Christmas not Advent. We don?t sing Advent carols, or decorate an Advent tree, or buy Advent Blend at Starbucks. Christmas is more attractive than Advent. Perhaps it?s for the best. After all, Christmas has come to include such contrasting events to Advent such as Black Friday and the final quarter for reporting taxes to the IRS. However, there remains one Christmas symbol that serves as a sufficient indication of the season. It is light. We see extra lights everywhere during the month of December. (Some of my neighbors in Nuevo Ranch had their Christmas lights strung and illuminated in mid-November!) Who doesn?t appreciate light? There is something mesmerizing about all of the lights at Christmas time. They are festive, fun, and in some small way, seem to take our minds off of the stress and cares of the world. Light is the opposite of darkness.
Advent simply means ?coming? and at Christmas, it is the reminder that the Son of God came to the world to seek and save the lost. The four Sundays before Christmas Day mark the season of Advent. Each Sunday we light a candle to show that the light of the world, Jesus Christ came. He illumines our path and leads us to the Father. He reconciles us that we may have peace with God and one another. There is no reason for us to live in darkness. In fact, the scripture says that we, the followers of Christ, are the light of the world. It is appropriate to kick off the Advent season talking about the light of our life and as we get closer to Christmas Day, the implications of the incarnation of Christ.
