Advent begins this Sunday. You may know that the word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” If you have been around the church for a while you probably also know that Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of Christ. What you may not know is that the season of Advent has a dual purpose. It is meant to focus our attention on preparing to celebrate the birth of the savior as told in the beginnings of the gospels of Matthew and Luke. But it is also meant to remind us of Christ’s second coming.
Most of us know the Christmas story, celebrating Jesus first coming as a baby, born into the most humble of circumstances. But we may not be as familiar with the accounts in scripture related to Jesus second coming. At His second coming, Christ will not come as a humble child or a sacrificial lamb. He will come in His full glory and power to judge the world. In all four of the gospel there are passages related to the return of Christ. If you want to read through these Biblical accounts, you can find them in Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Mark 13, Luke 21 and towards the end of John 14. Then, of course, there is the book of Revelation.
So the question I want to encourage us to think about today is “how will I prepare?” Most of us have some idea of how to prepare for the first coming of Christ, the celebration of his birth. But what about the second coming? How do we prepare for that? Can we even prepare for Christ’s return, particularly considering we have no idea when that advent will be.
To prepare for the celebration of Christmas, I know that many of us will decorate our homes, buy gifts for our loved ones and enjoy wonderful meals (eating more goodies than we ever should). But I hope there will also be, for each of us, spiritual preparation for Christmas. I encourage us to take some extra time in prayer and in God’s word. I hope we will all make the extra effort to be in worship every Sunday during Advent. And I pray we will use this season as an opportunity for invitation for our unchurched friends and neighbors.
But what about that second coming? How do we prepare for that? The answer is actually fairly simple, but not always easy. We prepare for Jesus’ return by living for Christ everyday. In I Thes. 5 the apostle Paul explains that Jesus’ return will come like a thief in the night. In other words, we won’t expect it. So, by simply living a life every day that honors God and reflects Christ, it won’t matter what day Christ returns. We will be prepared.
So during this Advent season, I would certainly encourage us to prepare well for the celebration of Christmas as the birth of Christ. But I would also want us to be mindful that this season is meant to be a time of reflecting on our preparation for Christ’s second coming. May we remember the former without neglecting the later.
I look forward to us all being together this Sunday for worship as we prepare together for the Advent of Christ.
Love you all,
Pastor Steve