Thoughts on Advent

For the last two Sundays (Dec. 6 and Dec. 13) - we have been reflecting on the curious season of Advent....

how Advent attitudes (harmony/one voice, joy, peace, hope...as outlined in Romans 15 - verses 5, 6 and 13) may actually be harder than ever to come by during the frenetic month of December...

how the odd arguments over "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" may miss the point of the spiritual season of Advent entirely...

I found an interesting reflection on the season of Advent, by Richard A. Kauffman:

Advent is one of the stranger seasons in the church calendar. We are to anticipate something that has already happened (the first Advent), while at the same time look forward to something that hasn’t (the second Advent). It takes some imagination to inhabit that time warp. Advent is about waiting and anticipating, and while anticipation is often more rewarding than the reality itself, waiting doesn’t come naturally.

Kauffman also takes on the question of whether we should even yet be singing Christmas carols, since technically it's not yet Christmas! Read more of his post here:

MUST WE WAIT FOR THIS?