Our Rich Heritage: Celebrating Advent With the Historical Church
Brent J. Aucoin | December 04, 2024
Every December, for at least the last 1,700 years, Christians around the world have observed Advent — a four-week long period leading up to Christmas day. Although the observation of Advent has taken many forms over the centuries, the central purpose of the period has been to prepare for celebrating the incarnation — the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. In fact, the term “Advent” stems from the Latin word for “coming” — as in Christ coming into the world, or, since Christmas falls near the shortest day of the year, the coming of the Light of the World.
In the centuries leading up to the Protestant Reformation of 1517, Advent became one of many “holy days” that filled the liturgical calendar of the dominant Catholic and Orthodox churches. In the quest to be guided by the Scriptures, early Protestants, including Baptists, eschewed the traditional “holy days,” including Christmas itself.
However, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and High Church Protestants, such as Anglicans, continued to observe Advent, Christmas, and other holidays. It was not until the mid-to-late 1800s that Baptists began to observe Christmas as a holiday, thanks in part to pastors such as John Ryland and Charles Spurgeon.
Now, as we are nearly a quarter of the way into the twenty-first century, an increasing number of Baptists and evangelicals are warming to the idea of observing Advent and have been now for several decades. Although they sometimes choose to avoid the formality and accoutrements traditionally associated with Advent celebrations, such as wreaths and candles, evangelicals are joining their more liturgical brothers and sisters in purposefully preparing for and building up to the observation of Christmas.
Now that Christmas has become such a cultural holiday in the West, this is an understandable development. In recent decades, born-again believers have felt more acutely the need to intentionally set their hearts and minds on the true joy and meaning of Christmas, lest it be overshadowed by the culture’s current view of the holiday.
In Advent, we as Christians have a rich heritage from which draw on to help guide ourselves, our families, and our churches towards a Christ-centered celebration of the holiday season. That heritage began with the reading of Scripture in the weeks and days leading up to Christmas. Those readings consist not only of the narratives telling the story leading up to the birth of Christ but also the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah and passages describing God’s perfect holiness and man’s sin-plagued plight.
In the hustle, bustle, and noisiness of the holiday season, let us look to the Bible, and build on a legacy that stretches back nearly 2,000 years, to quiet our souls and focus our thoughts on the real reason for celebrating the season: the coming of the Son of God to save his people from their sins.
“ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Colossians 3:16 ESV