What should we be preaching/teaching during Advent? To answer that question, we must be sure we all understand what Advent really is… and what it is not.
The season of Advent is a time of anticipation. For four weeks the Church lies in a state of expectancy, awaiting the coming of the Lord. The very word “Advent” comes from the Latin adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” Like Mary and Joseph awaiting the birth of their son, the church sits in a posture of anticipating the Messiah’s arrival. Advent doesn’t celebrate his arrival (that’s what Christmas celebrates) but it does look forward to His arrival. Like Christmas morning celebrations around your living room tree, the Church gathers during these four weeks to talk and anticipate God’s ultimate present, the gift of the baby born in a manger.
Since Advent is about His coming, it is also an appropriate time for the Church to talk about the Second Coming of Jesus. Preaching on the Second Coming is a needed and important doctrine that is often overlooked in our yearly preaching schedules. For those who have not researched Advent and its meaning, It may seem unusual to preach about the Second Coming in December, but it is a strong and important doctrine in the life of the Church of God. For instance, a suggested preaching text for the first Sunday of Advent this year was Matthew 24:36-44. The text is about a comparison between the days of Noah when no one knew the time or season of the coming flood and the current culture of the first century. Jesus gives numerous separation analogies in the text in order to talk about the judgement, which is the function of the Second Coming. When Jesus returns a second time, the end arrives and the judgement begins. To express this, Jesus uses a “parable” approach – telling stories to make his point. Two men are out in the field, farmers tending to their livelihood. Suddenly, when Jesus returns, one is taken and the other remains. Likewise, two women are grinding meal to prepare the coming repast, and one is taken, while the other remains. It’s another way of talking about separating the sheep and the goats. How does this relate to the birth narratives? Well, it hearkens back to Simeon’s blessing to Mary when Jesus was dedicated at the Temple on the eighth day of his existence. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35) The doctrine here is that Jesus is the dividing line of history in the sense that he brings spiritual accountability to the human race. His first coming is the culmination of all the O.T. prophecies about the coming Messiah. The second coming is the culmination of all of the N.T. fulfillment of those anticipatory prophecies in the O.T. Both comings are about God’s holiness, righteousness, grace, and love.
The suggested preaching text for the second Sunday in Advent concentrates on another important figure in Advent – John the Baptist. In Matthew 3:1-12 we are introduced to the key figure who signals the coming end of adventus, the waiting period. In first century, Judaism there was a commonly held belief that Elijah (or some representation of him) would arrive first before the coming of the Messiah. This view had been popularized by the ritual used in the Passover celebration. At the end of the meal, a child would arise from the table and open the door to usher in Elijah. An empty chair could be placed at the table (if they were not reclining) to give him a seat so he could be present at the end of the meal. The powerful symbolism is that if Elijah is present, then the Messiah is right behind him.
In the Gospels, the Pharisees are always trying to determine if someone is Elijah. They inquire of John the Baptist if he is the Messiah, Elijah, or one of the Prophets. Later on, the popular debate among those who experienced the ministry of Jesus was whether he was Elijah or the Messiah. The disciples reflect this when Jesus inquires who people say that he is (See Matthew 16:14). With this as background, the use of Matthew 3 ushers us into the topics of both the judgement and John the Baptist as they collide when he chastises the Pharisees and their lack of true spirituality. This collision of faith and judgement is part of the foundational theme of what Advent really is.
On the third Sunday of Advent, a passage from Matthew 11 is suggested. In it the focus returns to John the Baptist. By this time the Baptist is in prison, and he realizes that his life is coming to an end. Still unsure of the veracity of the calling of Jesus, John has his disciples inquire one final time about who Jesus is and how he is revealing himself as the Messiah. “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus uses the occasion to not only assure John’s disciples about who he is and what he is doing, but also to speak to the crowds about John and the nature of his ministry. About John he notes: “This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you’ … For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 11:3, 10, 13-15) Having clearly identified John as the representation of Elijah returned, Jesus addresses the crowd to speak about the importance of judgement, this common theme of Advent. The text of Matthew 11:16-20 makes the connection clear.
“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.
It’s not until the final Sunday of Advent that one finally attends to the birth narrative. However, in alignment with the meaning of Advent, this concluding text for Advent is the story of Joseph and how he comes to understand the birth of Jesus. The text, from Matthew 1:18-25 is a usual text for those who preach in Advent but do not follow the meaning of Advent. It is important to notice that the text ends not with Jesus being born but with the preparations for his birth. It’s not until Matthew 2:1 that the gospel says, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem…” Matthew gives no description of the actual birth event (as Luke does) but merely announces that it has occurred. He then turns his attention to the story of the coming of the Wise Men, a great Epiphany text! But that will have to wait for another day. Until then, the story of Christmas will have to be proclaimed on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. In Advent, we are still waiting and anticipating the arrival.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So, Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. (Luke 2:1-7)
1 The Church of God is amillennial in its approach to the Second Coming. While this has been the historic theological and doctrinal position of the Church at large, it has been overshadowed by contemporary interpretations that include premillennial ideas about Armegeddon, the Tribulation, and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. While these ideas get a lot of play in books and with televangelists, they do not represent the historical position of the Church of God. For further insights into this doctrine, the Church of God has numerous books that share the amillennial position. See Gilbert W. Stafford, Theology for Disciples : Systematic Considerations About the Life of Christian Faith, Second edition. ed. (Anderson, Indiana: Warner Press, 2012); Albert F. Gray, Basic Christian Theology, vol. 1 (Anderson, IN.: Warner Press); ibid., 2; Arlo F. Newell, The Church of God as Revealed in Scripture (Anderson, Ind.: Warner Press, 1983); John W. V. Smith, I Will Build My Church : Biblical Insights on Distinguishing Doctrines of the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.: Warner Press, 1999).
2 If you would like to know more about this practice, there is a testimony that gives insight to it. See https://hillel.tufts.edu/elijahs-visit-a-passover-reflection/
3 See John 1:21ff
Outside Reading
Gray, Albert F. Basic Christian Theology. Vol. 1, Anderson, IN.: Warner Press.
———. Basic Christian Theology. Vol. 2, Anderson, IN: Warner Press.
Newell, Arlo F. The Church of God as Revealed in Scripture. Anderson, Ind.: Warner Press, 1983.
Smith, John W. V. I Will Build My Church : Biblical Insights on Distinguishing Doctrines of the Church of God. Anderson, Ind.: Warner Press, 1999.
Stafford, Gilbert W. Theology for Disciples : Systematic Considerations About the Life of Christian Faith. Second edition. ed. Anderson, Indiana: Warner Press, 2012.
