The Greek word, Advent, corresponds to the term ‘parousia’ which means “a coming”. Celebrating Advent is bringing us back to the time right before Christ was born- when Israel longed for a prophet, to hear from God, and to be healed.
It’s been said that the ‘Advent season’ has been celebrated in the church as early as the 4th and 5th centuries. There are a host of different thoughts toward what we should focus on as we go through the ‘Advent season’. In the 6th century, the church in Rome, utilized the time instilling a preparation for the soon-to-come Messiah. Gregory the Great, a church father from 6th and 7th century, focused on the celebration of the incarnate Christ, because he understood that this event marked the beginning of salvation. In Gaul, the church has primarily focused on the eschatological “coming of tghe Lord”, fostering the need for penance and readiness.
This past Sunday, I was able to welcome The Blue Point Bible Church into celebrating the ‘Advent season. One of the members of our congregation shared excitment because our church has never done that before.
For the past month I have been preaching sermons about “walking worthy” of all that we believe we posess as Christ’s body. This included but is not limited to exercising the “power of prayer”, walking in an assured, confident, and clear understanding of God, and being expectant and adaptable to what God is doing in our church, is us, and in His world. You can listen to those podcasts as the following link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/11630
As Preterists, who understand the “eschatological events” of the coming of the Lord, the judgment, and the resurrecton of the dead ones as past events, we must be compelled to live in the salvific reality. As we endeavor to understand the victorious narrative of Scripture, we are called to live in the reality of the “New Jerusalem” and thus call the other nations to drink of the “Water of Life”. You can read through this imagery in Revelation chapters 21-22.
It should surely be looked at as “Divine Providence” that immediately following the “season” in which we are called to be grateful, we turn to a season of expectation- advent. Granted, us Preterists are not waiting and saying “O Come Lord Jesus” as is seen throughout the Catholic Missal for this season. Yet, even more so, as those who allow the Scriptures to be clear and consistent, we should understand that living in the fullness and reality of His promise, is supposed to lead us to the expectation of seeing His glory in the world, daily.
As we go through Advent, we are provided with hosts of Bible verses that show us what reality the Messiah was going to bring to His people. I look forward to all that can be produced in this season, if we, the ‘Children of the Light’ are willing to walk diligently.
Out of the Common Prayer book we recieve this excerpt of information, “Advent is the season when we remember how Jesus put on flesh and moved into the neighborhood. God getting born in a barn reminds us that God shows up in the most forsaken corners of the Earth. Movements throughout church history have gone to the desert, to the slums, to the most difficult places on Earth to follow Jesus. Jesus comes from Nazareth, a town from which folks said nothing good could come.”
Now only was God willing to come in human flesh to be our solution/ salvation. He also ushered in the reality of the New Covenant. Let it be our goal this season to grow in a more solid understanding of what the current reality of the New Jerusalem (the fully consumated Kingdom of God) should look like as displayed by us. As we continue to be amazed by all that God has accomplished for us, and in us, let us display that to the world. In this manner, we are able to allow our gratitude to make others grateful.
We are not expecting a coming kingdom, we are living in the yet under-realized, fully consummated, kingdom of God. Surely, we have the responsibility to make this known both in word and deed.
All of that said, I invite YOU to come along with me for a season of Godly Conspiracy. For example, at The Blue Point Bible Church we are going through a month or two of examining the doctrines of John Calvin (since we refer to ourselves as a ‘Sovereign Grace’ church and hold to the tents of Calvinism). Also, this month I am hosting a “ministry meeting” which is going to be a time where our congregation “conspires together” how we can make those outside our church want to visit, make our visitors feel welcomed, and allow the manifold wisdom of God to be revealed through us in all that we do. Yes, we are truly endeavoring to “walk worthy” in all that we do. 🙂
If you are not local, no worries. I am always involving our “far off” brothers and sisters, whether that be through Facebook, email programs, etc. There is so much more to come in how we can “conspire” to allow God’s Kingdom shine through us, and thus light up the world.
As a resource I would like to provide you with the daily readings throughout the month.
First week – Isaiah 40:1-5; Isaiah 52:7-10 (Isaiah 2 & 4); Isaiah 40:9-11; Genesis 3:8-15; Genesis 15:1-6; Dueteronomy 18:15-19; Psalms 89:1-4
Second week – Isaiah 11:1-10; Zechariah 6:12-13; Micah 5:2-4; Malachi 3:1-6; John 1:1-8; John 1:9-18; Mark 1:1-3
Third week – Luke 1:5-13; Luke 1:14-17; Luke 1:18-25; Luke 1:39-45; Luke 1:46-56; Luke 1:57-66; Luke 1:67-80
Fourth week – Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-35; Isaiah 9:2-7; Mattew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 2:1-2; Luke 2:21-35
“Loving God, as we enter this Advent season, we open all the dark places in our lives and memories to the healing light of Christ. Show us the creative power of hope. Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you, that we may walk in the Light of Christ.”
Blessings to you, in and through Jesus Christ,
Pastor Michael Miano
MIANO-GONE-WILD 