An Advent That We Need Right Now
ADVENT Word with Latin roots, meaning “coming.” Christians of earlier generations spoke of “the advent of our Lord” and of “His second advent.” The first phrase refers to God’s becoming incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. The latter phrase speaks of Jesus’ second coming. In a second sense “advent” designates a period before Christmas when Christians prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. This practice may have begun in some churches as early as the late fourth century. Advent began as a time of fasting. Sermons focused on the wonder of the Incarnation. By the Middle Ages four Sundays had become the standard length of the Advent season.
it is a period characterized by an attitude of repentance (though now downplayed) and anticipation, with preaching focused on the prophetic utterances of Scripture concerning both the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. The third Sunday of Advent introduces rejoicing
Advent wreath. A wreath bearing four candles, each lit progressively on successive Sundays (or their eves) of the Advent season. Its popularity is recent (twentieth century).
One of the clearest expressions of the continuing hope was in the Psalms of Solomon (17–18) (70–40 B.C.), a Jewish writing of the Messiah as the son of David. There Messiah was a warrior-prince who would expel the hated Romans from Israel and bring in a kingdom in which the Jews would be promoted to world dominion.
In the exilic and postexilic ages, the expectation of a coming Messiah came into sharper focus, commencing with Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s vision of a Messiah who would combine the traits of royalty and priestly dignity (Jer. 33:14–18; Ezek. 46:1–8; Zech. 4:1–14; 6:13).