We tend to associate Advent with Christmas. The word literally means ‘coming’ – so we think, ‘of course, Christmas is coming!’ The Advent calendar gives the countdown, with chocolates behind each window to sweeten the way. But Advent is a Latin word translated from the biblical word parousia – which pointed to something (or someone) coming, long before Christmas was invented. (Christmas wasn’t widely celebrated until the 9th C. No one knows when Jesus was born). So what was the biblical ‘coming’ referring to?
Parousia has the sense of someone coming to stay – like if your mother-in-law says, ‘I’m coming to stay’, without giving any indication of when she might leave again! Jesus spoke about his coming (Mt 24:3) at the end of the age, which indicated a future coming – since he had already come as a baby, and was still there speaking the words. So we refer to his birth and life as his ‘first coming’, and his future return as his ‘second coming’.
But uniquely in history, he came both from heaven and earth, both as human and as God. When the disciples saw him ‘ascend into heaven’, that didn’t mean he was just returning home. Everyone knew that ‘ascension’ meant a king ascending to his throne. Jesus was ascending to his heavenly throne to begin his rule as King of the universe! And one day he’ll return to sit on his earthly throne as well, and to dwell with us, his people. That’s the meaning of his prophetic name – Emmanuel: God with us. So we pray, ‘your kingdom come’, the kingdom of God.
But that’s not all. In the Old Testament, prophecies like Isa 35:4 provided hope that in the midst of distress: ‘Your God will come!’- both with vengeance and salvation! Christ claimed to be this fulfilment when he read from Isaiah in Lk 4:17-21. Unexpectedly, he didn’t come as the Messiah to save them from Rome, but as God in flesh, to save us all from sin. Unexpectedly, he separated the time of salvation (the cross) from a later judgement. Unexpectedly, when he ascended, he sent his Spirit to ‘come and stay’- a way of God coming, staying, internally, with everyone who believes.
Advent isn’t pointing to Christmas, it’s pointing to Christ! It’s about anticipation, expectation, and hope. We remember his coming, look forward to his coming again, and experience his coming within us – now.
