Sermonette: Dec. 11, 2023

With two exceptions, my weekly sermons are based on scripture. The exceptions are Advent and Lent. The ways in which we celebrate these two holiday seasons are based on tradition. Advent is the beginning of our church calendar year. We use this season to prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Lent is the time leading up to Holy Week, when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday. You will not find mention of these two seasons in scripture. However, both of these events hold an important part in our church calendar and christian lives and it is good that we honor and celebrate them. Are you ready for a little history? Let's Go!

On western Christian church calendars, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The term Advent comes from the Latin word “adventus” which translates as coming, or arrival. The main symbol used by western Christian churches is the Advent wreath. This is a perfect symbol to use for celebrating the coming of Jesus. A wreath is round. It has no beginning nor ending, continuing on and on. Jesus told us he is the Alpha and the Omega. Those are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. He is telling us that he is the beginning and the end. The Advent wreath has five candles set in it, four outer ones and one in the middle. The outer candles are named Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. The center candle is called the Jesus candle. It represents the emobodiment of the meanings of the four outer ones. Most churches use violet, though recently, many are trending towards blue, for three of the outer candles and the Joy candle is often a pink candle. It is sometimes called the Mary candle and respresents the joy she felt when the angel Gabriel told her she would become the the mother of our Savior.

Tradition has it that in the 16th century, a protestant minister in Germany tired of children asking him when Christmas would get here. He fashioned a wooden ring, possibly from a tree branch. He adorned it with pine cones and a red ribbon and set candles in it. He told the children that they should light a candle, adding a candle each day and by the time they got to the last candle, it would be Christmas. From this beginning we have come to use a wreath with just the five candles. We light one candle each week and on Christmas we light the Jesus candle. Although first practiced by German protestants, the practice became very popular and quickly was taken up by nearly all western Christian churches.

Another symbol of this season is the Christmas tree. According to tradition, again from northern Europe, Germany or possibly Scandinavia, a man walking home on a winter evening was awed by the beauty of the stars shining brightly on this cold, clear evening. When he got home, he put small candles in a tree to symbolize the beauty of the stars God had created. In modern days, lights have replaced the candles to reduce the threat of fire in our homes. The fir tree family is used because they never change their color. They remain green all year around. God's love is a steadfast love, it never ends or changes either. Often either a star or an angel is placed on top of the tree. The star represents the star that shone over the place in Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was born; the angel represents the angels announcing “tidings of great joy” to the shepherds watching over their flocks.

The important thing to remember about this season is that it is only the symbols that are traditional. As Christians we truly believe that the birth our Lord and Savior, Jesus, is true fact and is to be joyfully celebrated.

Blessings to you all.