Advent is a time of preparation. In the secular world, that preparation involves writing the obligatory Christmas card letter, dragging out the baking pans and hunting through the closets for a Christmas-themed sweater to wear to the party.
But Advent really is the time when we prepare our hearts for the arrival of Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, our Lord and Savior.
Matthew 1:18-21 tells us the God-coming-in-the-flesh story: This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Lighting the Advent candles during worship in the weeks before Christmas is a critical part of preparing our hearts. The four candles focus our attention on the blessings that precede Christ’s birth.
The first candle is called the hope candle. It reminds us that the hope we have today exists because God came to us in human form 2,000 years ago. That God-in-human-form died on a cross to cleanse our sins and restore us to a righteous relationship.
Like most of us, Joseph probably had high hopes for his future. He likely hoped to continue at his carpentry trade. He hoped he and Mary would be able to save up enough money to get married. He hoped they would have a family. And I suspect he hoped God would give him a child who could work with him in the family business, maybe even taking over the business when Joseph got too old to work. Interestingly, that is exactly what happened, except God took an active part in fathering Joseph’s first child. And, while we believe that Jesus did work alongside Joseph, eventually he became much more than the carpenter’s helper of whom Joseph had dreamed.
The second candle of Advent is the peacecandle. It reminds us of the peace we can have when we live a Christ-centered life. Certainly, learning that your fiancée is with child is not a peace-generating bit of news. Being an honorable man, Joseph decided to end their engagement, but to do so peacefully for Mary’s sake. Then the angel told Joseph to stay true to Mary and go through with the marriage.
Given how their kinfolk and the townspeople might see things, Joseph and Mary could not expect that things would be peaceful in the near term. However, they followed the angel-given instructions and peace prevailed. When we lead the same kind of Christ-centered life, peace will prevail for us too, regardless how things may look in the moment. Peace results when we resist acting on what we think should be done and, instead, listen for and act on God’s will.
The third candle of Advent is called the joycandle. Joy can be defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. There are other synonyms for joy, such as bliss, ecstasy, euphoria and exuberance. Galatians tells us that joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. And Proverbs tells us that a joyful heart is good medicine.
Joy has its root in the hope and peace we find in living a Christ-centered life. So it is appropriate that we light the joy candle because, in the words of Isaiah, “You shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
The fourth candle of Advent is the love candle. Do you see the pattern that has been unfolding over the previous weeks of candle lightings? We started with hope, which burst forth when God came to us in human form. Then we find peace by living a Christ-centered life. With hope and peace, we can live joyful lives. But it would be a pretty self-centered existence if Advent ended with us just being hopeful, peaceful and joyful. So, we light the candle of love to remind us that hope, peace and joy are the precursors to loving.
That love originates with God and then infuses our individual lives. This, in turn, gives us the desire to share love with God’s world, God’s people and ultimately give love back to God. 1 John says it best: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
The final candle is the Christ candle. It sits in the center of the other candles because hope, peace, joy and love all come from Jesus. The Book of Acts says: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” And the Gospel of John records that Jesus said: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
Advent provides several weeks for us to think about and prepare for celebrating Christ’s birth. So, this year, as I sit down to write the obligatory Christmas card letter, decorate the cookies and put on my Christmas-themed sweater, I will remember the true meaning of Advent is living a Christ-centered life that will bring hope, peace, joy and love to a hurting world.
