As Christ Church Parish turned the calendar to the first Sunday in December, it entered both the start of a new church year and the season of Advent, which begins the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas day. Advent in modern times is closely associated with the coming (“advent”) of Christmas. Over the last 2,000 years it has brought several other facets with it in addition to awaiting the celebration of Jesus’ birth.
Early Christians saw Advent as a season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians at the January feast of Epiphany and would prepare themselves to spend 40 days in penance, prayer and fasting. Another hundred years or so passed until the Southern European Christians firmly brought the coming of Christ into focus. Unlike the modern celebration of Jesus’ birth—the first coming of Christ, the 6th-Century Christians looked to His Second coming to resurrect the dead and judge all souls.
Gradually, through the ages, the Advent season became firmly tied to both Jesus’ birth, His first coming, and His second coming in glory.
At Christ Church Parish, during this Advent, Father Stuart Wood stated, “We have had a successful and interesting Advent program on Wednesday evenings.”
Father Wood has prepared parishioners and guests for the season by unraveling some of the complications of the season as it might have been seen through the eyes of the Virgin Mary’s husband, Joseph. He had to contend with all the changes the birth of Jesus would likely have brought. Four-footed transportation, a stable for a bedroom, a feed trough for a crib, and all about 90 miles from their home near the Sea of Galilee.
As Father Wood wove his story of Joseph’s complications while awaiting the baby’s birth, the story honored fewer common facets of Advent. “There is a note of penance as we looked at the plight of Joseph the first week, how he embraced these difficulties the second week, and how the birth of Christ made it all worthwhile in the final study,” he said. “This, in turn, leads to sharing about the stress many people experience during this time of year, ways of embracing and growing from these difficulties, as we look forward to celebrating both the Christ’s birth and second coming.
Coming celebrations for Christmas at Christ Church Parish in Saluda include two events on December 24—a carol sing at 4:30 p.m. and a service at 5 p.m. in the church. There will also be a Christmas day service at 10 a.m. in the church.
