Come, thou long expected Jesus - the Season of Advent
The Advent season is the beginning of the church year and is generally seen as a time of preparation for Christmas. However as the Collects for Advent show us, Advent not only reminds us of Jesus coming into this world as a baby born in Bethlehem, but also prepares us for his future coming in his glorious majesty.
Advent is a wonderful season which has several interwoven patterns. The 4 Sundays of Advent lead us through the themes of:
- Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ
- The prophets who prepared for the First Coming of Jesus Christ
- John the Baptist, the Forerunner of the Christ
- Mary the mother of Jesus at his First Coming
We also have a wealth of Advent music such as the Advent hymns and carols which explore the themes above and root these themes firmly in our minds
Thirdly there are 2 stages to Advent which are expressed the antiphons which are sung before the Magnificat at Evening Prayer. We will be familiar with these if we have sung the Advent hymn 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Ancient and Modern New Standard 26). These antiphons have always been sung in Anglican churches in this hymn form. They could also be heard at cathedrals between 17th December and 23rd December. Now since the pulication of Common Worship they are an optional item for us all to use during Evening Prayer in the days before Christmas.
The Collects and readings at the Sunday Service during Advent help us to explore the different aspects of this season of preparation.
See also our magazine article on the season of Advent.
