Advent

Join us through Advent and Christmas in our series “When Heaven and Earth Meet”

Marking the four Sundays before Christmas as the time of “Advent” is a Christian tradition which is nearly 1800 years old. Advent means “coming” and these four weeks are a time to wait for what is to come – to acknowledge that there are things that we do not yet have, and things that are promised but that still we long for. Kids, of course, know all about Advent Calendars, counting down to Christmas, and a longing for presents! But the spiritual practice of Advent is not simply about waiting for feasts and toys. As Timothy Paul Jones writes, advent is about an “expectant yearning for the divine banquet Jesus is preparing for us… Just as the ancient Israelites awaited the coming of the Messiah in flesh, we await the coming of the Messiah in glory.” We celebrate our encounter with him in his birth, but we await our final, most beautiful and fulfilling meeting when he comes again.

This year our Advent series follows the ways in which people have encountered God throughout the millennia – and the ways in which God has revealed himself in those meetings. From the promises at Jacob’s ladder, to Moses’ call to deliver the people of Israel, to Isaiah’s transformation in the presence of a holy God, to angels meeting Zechariah and Mary to prepare and lift up – not only them, but the whole world – by means of the Messiah, to the birth of Jesus Christ – surprising the shepherds and making his home with us, we will see what happens when heaven and earth meet.