Advent is not pre-Christmas

This was the conversation in our van some days before Thanksgiving:
Belle, in her 7-year-old exasperated voice: “Argh! People should not have their Christmas lights up yet! … It’s OK for them to have their lights up, but they shouldn’t have them on yet!”
Me: “Amen, Belle!”
Lydia, in her 10-year-old wisdom: “Christmas lights shouldn’t be on and Christmas songs shouldn’t be sung until Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Then we can sing them for 12 days until January 6. That’s what the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is all about.
Me: “Amen, Lydia!”
And the other three ladies in the van just rolled their eyes.
It is kind of funny to hear 7 and 10 year-old children get exasperated by what they see in our culture concerning Christmas.
Most stores have completely crowded Advent out of the winter shopping season. Christmas decorations fill the stores as soon as Halloween is over.
There are many people who put their Christmas decorations up very early. That is especially understandable in Wisconsin where it is difficult and often dangerous to hang lights around the outside of the house in December.
However, when we start celebrating Christmas so early, we are tired of the season by the time December 25 finally rolls around. For many, by the day after Christmas, the decorations are down, the tree is out on the curb, and the music has stopped playing.
I’m not trying to change your habits about decorating or listening to songs.
But I do want you to understand why the Christian Church is so different from our culture. During the early weeks of December, we celebrate Advent, not Christmas.
Advent is an ancient word that means “to come” in Latin. During the season of Advent we celebrate Jesus’ coming. We concentrate on Jesus’ coming in the manger, in Word and Sacraments and as our King.
On the first Sunday in Advent we focus our attention on Jesus’ coming in the clouds on the Last Day to be our Judge and King.
On the second and third Sundays in Advent we listen to John the Baptist preach that Jesus is coming so we need to repent and be prepared.
On the fourth Sunday in Advent we hear the angel tell Joseph and Mary that a baby is coming and they will name Him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.
At Epiphany, we won’t sing any Christmas songs until the fourth Sunday in Advent. We save the majority of our Christmas hymns for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and for the two Sundays after Christmas. We leave our Christmas decorations up for twelve days after Christmas until January 6, when we celebrate the Gentile Christmas with our Epiphany Festival.
This year, in the midst of your shopping, baking, wrapping and decorating, stop to prepare for Christ’s comings. Advent prepares your heart for Christmas, worship and the Last Day by focusing our attention on the three comings of Jesus: His Birth, His Word and Sacraments, and on the Last Day.
Prepare for Christmas but let Advent be Advent.
Can I get an “Amen”?
In Christ’s service,

Pastor Michael Zarling

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