Preparing hearts for the birth of Jesus Christ

It's that holiday season again. Call it the Christmas season, shopping season or the season to be jolly. It's a special time with varied traditions and customs.

What often gets lost in the shuffle is Advent.

"Advent is the period of waiting for the birth of Jesus, preparation for Christmas," said Ellen Shuck, director of education for St. Mary's Cathedral in Cape Girardeau.

For most Western churches, Advent marks the beginning of the church year. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas.

Some churches acknowledge Advent with special music and prayers, and most look on Advent as a time of reflection of the true meaning of Christmas -- the birth of Jesus Christ.

In a hectic flurry of activity, Advent for some can be a quiet, reflective time.

"We need this time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus Christ," Shuck said.

Churches who celebrate Advent usually have an Advent wreath at the altar. Each wreath has four candles, each marking a week in Advent, and a center candle called the Christ candle, which is lighted on Christmas Eve, representing Jesus as the One True Light.

The wreath represents a circle that shows that God is eternal, He has no beginning and no end, said the Rev. Douglas Breite, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau.

"The greenery symbolizes life," Breite said.

"Jesus brought life through the cross and the empty tomb of Easter, eternal life because our sins are forgiven," he said.

Trinity Lutheran Church will have a Wednesday Advent service in the evening, so parishioners "can take an hour out of their busy schedules and refocus on Jesus Christ and his first coming in Bethlehem as we head toward his second coming."

St. Mary's will begin a Novena Dec. 17, and participants will receive a small booklet to use for daily meditation.

Other churches employ an Advent calendar, a cardboard calendar with numbered windows, each of which reveals a Scripture verse or other religious symbol to use as a daily devotional meditation.

"In a very busy season with so many secular activities, it's easy for Advent to be lost," Breite said. "That's the reason why so many congregations continue to emphasize the importance of Advent, and prepare our hearts for the Christmas celebration."

Pastor Phil Roop, of Bethel Assembly of God in Cape Girardeau, said his congregation takes a different approach to Advent and the rest of the Christmas season.

"We've found a lot of times there's so much going on, a lot of times special time for Christmas and family is minimized," he said.

Bethel Assembly of God may not have special services or what he calls the "busyness" of the season that might take away time families can spend together. Instead of services with introspection and study, the members of the congregation adopt an "angel" from an "angel tree," and provide items for a child with a parent in prison. They buy gifts like clothing and toys to give the children as though the gifts came from the parents, along with a handwritten note from the absent parent.

"It's a joy for our people to see a child get a gift and have the connection to Mom or Dad," Roop said.

Bethel will also adopt families, Roop said, from Jackson and Cape Girardeau and will make sure each family has Christmas dinner, a tree, lights and gifts.

Sharing in that way brings warmth to the hearts of those in the congregation, and prepares the community to receive the Christ Child, he said.

"We focus on the fact that he is coming again in great glory on Judgment Day," Breite said. "Advent means he comes, the first and second coming."

lredeffer@semissourian.com

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