The season of Advent offers time and space for Christians to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas through reflecting on the story of salvation. Advent begins the Christian liturgical year by not only recounting the birth of Christ but also Jesus Christ’s second coming. In Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, God demonstrates God’s love for all creation. Jesus is often referred to as Emmanuel, meaning “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). Through Mary’s willingness to carry and care for Jesus, God enters creation, at the same time being fully human and fully divine. Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection embody God’s unfathomable love for all creation. Advent invites the world to anticipate and receive God’s amazing love in Jesus Christ.
In the four weeks of Advent, we will journey a path together as we anticipate Jesus Christ’s coming as we reflect on biblical texts, Wesleyan themes, and Christian practices. By pondering God’s goodness through the Christmas narrative, we are invited to reflect on and participate in Christian practices, or good works, in response to God’s goodness. And as we will discover, these same practices resemble those encouraged by disciples throughout Christian tradition as well as by the founder of the early Methodist movement, John Wesley.
Wesley’s emphasis on practices of piety and mercy – or good works – drew from the larger Christian tradition. Such practices are also referred to as means of grace. So it will be as we journey through the four weeks of Advent, that we will reflect on biblical passages in light of an aspect of Wesleyan means of grace. Our journey will proceed as follows:
- December 1, 2024 – Practicing Advent: Preparing the Way
- December 8, 2024 – Praying in Advent
- December 15, 2024 – Practices of Mercy: Embodying God’s Love for Others
- December 22, 2024 – Christmas Is Only the Beginning: God Sends the Church to the World
My prayer is that all join us on this journey. May God bless you this Advent and Christmas season.
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