Advent Preachers Challenge

The historic season of Advent is near; it begins Sunday, December 2. As you know, Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year, also called the liturgical year. The liturgical year is a rich resource for Christian life and practice. These riches are not exhausted by Sunday color coding and Sunday lection appointments. The real power and beauty of the liturgical year only begins to unfold when Christians begin to observe it outside of the Sunday celebration. The Christian year’s formational dynamic sizzles when individuals, friends, and families find ways to weave its themes into the ordinary fabric of their lives.
 

Preachers are often discouraged by the low-levels of faith literacy among their congregants. Preachers (especially ordained ones) sometime complain about the lack of attendance at educational offerings and special services. We complain because we care. We wonder if our work is contributing to the growth of Christian disciples or whether we’re perpetuating an institutional form of Christianity that is doomed to fade away in the foggy future of post-Christendom and post-modernism. Advent is an opportunity for each of us as preachers to trust that despite the fog, hope is coming.

What better way to proclaim this hope then to challenge our people to observe Advent at home. If we could restore observance of the liturgical year to the home, we would see faith-literacy increasing organically in our congregations. If we could restore observance of the liturgical year to the home, we might find there is greater interest in educational offerings and special services. If we could restore observance of the liturgical year to the home, our preaching would be heard in the context of Christian life and practice instead of being heard as a strange blip on the ordinary radar of popular culture.

How do we do this? I’d suggest three starting points:

 

1.      Preach about it in general

Preach boldly and repeatedly on the key themes of Advent. Scripture is rich in resources here (including the Lectionary readings for those who use them). Make sure to explicitly link the themes of Advent (judgment, repentance, restoration) with the season of Advent.

2.      Provide resources

People’s lives are so rushed that they don’t always have time to research ideas on their own. Provide your people with web links, ideas, and other practical resources to observe Advent at home. Sunday school, adult forums, committee meetings and any other gathering could be used for this purpose.

 

3.      Preach about it in particular

Be specific in your application. Don’t only tell your people that need to repent or have hope, but how they are to embody repentance or hope in their lives.

Advent is near.

 

How will you encourage your people to weave the observance of this season into their ordinary lives?