From the Pastor's Study
Adventurous Advent Dec 1, 2021
For some time I have been wondering if the words, “adventure” and “advent” were related, and if they were, how were they related. The study of the origin of words is called etymology, and if you ever want to know where a word comes from, do an Internet search for the word you are wondering about followed by the word “etymology.” You will discover the origins of just about every word in the English language. The question: do the words “advent” and “adventure” have the same origin?
I discovered that they do. They are both rooted in Latin, coming from a compound word that means “toward” (ad) and “come/go” (venture). The initial use of the word “adventure” carried with it the sense of venturing into the unknown, and, given the era of history, that, for some, could have been a little scary. For us, however, to have an adventure is something exciting, even thrilling. A good adventure has a known beginning but an unknown ending. For example, you might have two weeks of free time and you decide that you are going to go on a road trip, but you make no plans. It will be an adventure, and you will simply go from place to place, taking in the sights and finding things to do. You have no idea what will happen next. This is very different from a planned trip where each day is scheduled, and you know exactly where you will end up at the end of the day. On any given day, those at home will know exactly where you have been. It might be a great road trip, but it is not an adventure, for there is a degree of uncertainty in an adventure or else it shouldn’t be called an adventure.
In some ways Advent does not seem like an adventure. We know that Advent has been celebrated since at least 450 AD and probably before. Advent, as we know it, consists of the four weeks before Christmas. In many churches the Advent themes of love, hope/faith, peace and joy are celebrated every year, not always in the same order. Advent always ends with Christmas, Christmas Eve being the last day of Advent. For some Advent is exciting because Christmas is coming, but the journey is seldom a true adventure because we know what is coming next. There is little uncertainty surrounding Advent.
Yet, if we look at the history of Advent, we discover that there is something of an adventurous spirit to the season. Advent has not always been focused on the birth of Jesus Christ; in many times and places an equal focus was on the return of Jesus at the end of time. Jesus will come again, and we don’t know when. This is not something we focus on much nowadays because we seem to like living in the present, probably because we have it pretty good right now. It might be that we don’t think much about the return of Jesus because we don’t really have any need to long for things to be better. This does make me wonder if, perhaps, the focus of the Christian church during the Advent season is a function of how comfortable Christians are. If we are well-fed and content, there is much less of a desire to look for the return of Christ. However, if we are struggling with need or facing persecution as the early church was, our focus might be much more on the return of Jesus, and his second coming might be much more on our minds. After all, when Jesus returns all that is wrong will be made right. It might be an interesting study to find out if the focus of Advent (on either Jesus’ first coming or his return) is conditional on whether or not the church is facing struggles.
As we focus on the first coming of Jesus into the world at Christmas, there may not be much of a sense of adventure. We might enjoy the Christmas hymns, the special worship services, and the many family traditions (gift exchanges, large meals and family get-togethers), but these things do not make for a great adventure. Many of us might even know exactly when we are going to do whatever it is that we have planned for Christmas and the only thing that will change our plans is the weather.
But when we think about the return of Jesus, that is something we have not yet experienced. We know that he will come as he left, on the clouds of heaven. We know that that every eye will see him. We know that the graves of those who put their trust in Jesus while they lived on this earth will be opened and they will be given imperishable bodies. We know that there will be a final judgement and all things sinful will be destroyed. And we know that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But, even with knowing all of that, the second Advent of Jesus will be a tremendous adventure because it will be entirely new. For those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ the adventure will grow more and more exciting, for we will experience the goal of all that God has planned for us. It will truly be an adventure, one that is thrilling beyond our imaginations. We know that the second advent of Jesus Christ will end in us being given a place in the eternally new creation, one that is entirely good, one where we will experience God’s amazing presence every moment for the rest of eternity.
The first advent of Jesus certainly took the world by surprise. Nobody really expected it to be exactly as it was. Of course, for us living 2000 year after the event, we have heard the stories so many times that we always know what happens next. But none of us have experienced the second coming of Jesus. Perhaps we need to focus a little more on that Advent so that our advent journey becomes truly adventurous again.
Pastor Gary
