10 years ago — December 6, 2004
The first great theme of Advent is the second coming. … “Watch and be ready, be alert, see the signs in the heavens … the Son of Man is coming, live righteously and justly.” Another great theme is prophesy of the incarnation. “A young woman … will bear a son, and shall be called Immanuel ‘God with us.’” … It is about praying a prayer to restore and save us. And it culminates in the celebration of the incarnation that calls us to share the good news with the world. This means that we also practice to become less self-centered. Our ordering of worship helps us place God in the center as we gather to praise God acknowledging all that God is and has done. We gather around God’s Word proclaimed and around the table to feast on the Word made flesh so that we might be sent into the world with God in our hearts and in turn feed a world that hungers for God.
From the article, “Theology and liturgy in Advent, Christmas and Epiphany music” by Alan Barthel
