The SEASON OF HOPE AND ANTICIPATION  

According to the Armenian Church calendar, Monday, November 22, was the first day of the 2005 Advent Season. Ask any Sunday School student and s/he will tell you that Advent is the period of four weeks before Christmas. For our children, Advent is obviously a period of expectations for Christmas, and the much-anticipated day of the opening of the gifts. As parents and educators we do our best to remind our children that it is not all about the toys and games, rather about the divine gift we all receive through the person, love, ministry and gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Having said that, let me ask you a question: Does this very important season in the liturgical calendar of the Armenian Church have any relevance in our lives today?

Practically speaking for most of us this season might as well be called the “shopping” season, or the “Mall-Parking-Lot-Challenge” season. Needless to say, shopping and enduring the hassles of visiting the malls to buy gifts for our loved ones is a beautiful gesture and should be commended. May I, however, ask you to take a moment in the busyness of this season and the pressures it brings on your schedule and family’s life, and think about the meaning of the season itself. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or coffee or a glass of wine and join me as I share my Advent reflections with you.

Nature reminds us that Advent is a time of change and renewal. Everything around us is changing. During Advent we count the last days of autumn and prepare for winter. The trees drop their leaves and prepare for the freezing temperatures of the winter in anticipation of the renewal that comes after the snow storms of January and February. The Church, likewise, takes a moment (or a four-week period) to prepare us all for our spiritual renewal. During Advent the Church takes us in a spiritual journey pondering God’s eternal gift for us, His love that was manifested through the birth of Jesus Christ: the advent of Christ to redeem and restore God’s creation, our hope of victory over sin and death.

Advent is more than preparation for the feast of Christmas. It is an annual season to help us prepare for the coming of Christ into our lives. In a way, every year on the first day of the Advent Season, we receive a star from the church to lead us to the Lord. Like the magi and the shepherds of the Gospels, we are invited to follow the star, which requires much effort from our end: understanding the message, making a decision to follow the star, pursuing that decision, and enduring the challenges of journeying to Christ in a world that, to say the least, is indifferent to Him and His message. You see, Advent is an annual challenge for ongoing adjustments in our life journey and priorities.

As we start this beautiful and holy season, would you please take a moment and think about your life-journey? As we conclude yet another year, and await the arrival of a new year with opportunities and possibilities, did the Lord have a “manger” in our hearts to dwell last year, and will He remain there for the coming year? Are we preparing to welcome His “advent” into our lives? Like the children on Christmas Eve are we awaiting with excited anticipation for the most precious gift of all: divine peace and life eternal? Have we started our preparations to welcome Him?

Have a blessed Advent Season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

In Christ’s service,

Fr. Vahan Hovhanessian
Advent, 2004

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