Advent: A time of expectation, hope, and anticipation

“With the arrival of Advent, Christians everywhere turn again towards the Savior. Advent marks the beginning of the celebration of His birth and His long-foretold ministry, atonement, death, resurrection and second coming. If Advent is an occasion when I re-turn my eyes to the Savior, then it is also an invitation to consider where my eyes—and my heart—have been in the meantime. Advent is the gentle nudge that invites me to remember that the truth most worth knowing is that Jesus Christ is the only way Home. It is also a gentle reminder that I ought to keep my eyes upon Him all year long.”

― Jean-Michel Hansen

Today marks the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is the Season in our Christian liturgical calendar that marks the period of preparation for the birth and the second coming of Christ. Often, especially with the secularization and commercialization of Christmas, we focus on the angel visiting Mary, Joseph’s quiet acceptance of God’s will, and the birth of Christ in a manger in Bethlehem.

However, Advent is a time of expectation, hope, and anticipation, not just for the birth of Christ, but for the return of Christ. I that find so many Christians today are living as if this earthly realm is all that we will experience. But the fact is Jesus is coming back and we are living our lives to live again in His eternal presence. Jean-Michel Hansen reminds us during and beyond Advent to keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Jesus, and to recognize that we have so much to look forward to in Christ. As the hymn goes, we are building our hopes on things eternal, and that is what Advent is all about.

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Donna Olivia Owusu-Ansah