Advent is a season of Waiting, a hopeful expectation of something new to come.
Some of our hopes and dreams are our own to hold onto, things that perhaps others will not nurture or appreciate the way we will.
Others come with an excited announcement, and command the attention of the family or the community.

A pregnancy for example.
The good news can be contained for a brief few weeks by the expectant parents, but before long it manages to find a way into the ears and hearts of friends and loved ones.
And the expectant parents then wait for the arrival assisted by the anticipation and excitement of the extended family.

Mary contained her news briefly, but before long had to share it with another who could identify and understand her joy. Her cousin Elizabeth was also overwhelmed with this same sense  of life as she was six months into a pregnancy that was conceived out of barrenness.

So they waited together and wrote songs about the coming event.
Advent is a season where we gather with  friends, families and  a community who shares the same hope. We tell stories of the coming king, we celebrate and exchange gifts.
We wait together.

We have entered the season of Advent which marks the official New Year of the Christian Church. Advent, from the Latin word ‘Adventus’ means Arrival or Approach, and is the season in our church calendar  where we anticipate and celebrate  the coming of Christ. Advent is a short season, embracing the four weeks leading up to Christmas.

The Church’s Liturgical Calendar helps us stay in step with the life of Jesus, and during this time engages us with a different rhythm than our usual frenzied pace. It offers us sacred moments  of time to reflect on the coming of Jesus, and with that a sense of hopeful expectation.

Advent is also referred to as ‘Little Lent’, the significance being that Advent mixes joy and hope with a sense of awe and trepidation as it prepares us for Christ’s birth at Christmas, as well as His second coming in the future.
The first of four Advent readings  takes in  the narrative of the Annunciation , found in  Luke 1 v 26 – 38 where the angel Gabriel comes to Mary to announce to her the arrival of the Messiah, of whom she is to be the Mother! This may read as a simple story, but when considered in the light of the fact that she was a virgin, being pregnant outside of
marriage in that culture would have seen her  cast out of community, even put to death.
How would she have reacted to this ‘good news’.  Possibly a mixture of both fear and wonder, yet in her words,
‘I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say’.
How do we respond to  the arrival of Jesus into our lives today?
As we approach the festivities of Christmas, and the pace that life demands,  let’s continue to take some sacred moments to reflect on the true meaning of this Season.

Anunciation- Colin McCahon