The Christian New Year Begins in Darkness

"The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

a light has dawned

on those living in the land of darkness."

— Isaiah 9:2

The Christian Calendar

The Thanksgiving holiday in America means that Advent is approaching. If your experience is like mine, Advent has been mostly subsumed by Christmas, but in the historical Christian calendar, the new year is about to begin this Sunday, and unlike the secular new year on January 1st, our Christian new year begins in darkness and waiting.

Traditionally, Advent is a time of fasting and waiting. The world is dark as we await the coming of the Messiah. This is symbolized in the Advent wreath with its five candles. Each week one more candle is lit. Our family likes to turn out the lights when we light the candles and experience a little more light each week until Christmas day.

Over the past few years our church has been pushing more and more into the Christian calendar, marking each season accordingly. If you are a Catholic or Anglican or come from a more liturgical church, this has probably been your norm. But for us Baptists, this is not what we are accustomed to.

Because of this experience and the power it has, when imbued with the Spirit, to grow us, I want to recognize the liturgical seasons as we go through the next year. How we grow and mature is mysterious, but one thing for sure is that it happens step by step over a lifetime. Walking through each season of each year, experiencing the stages of incarnation, redemption, salvation, and more reminds us of God's work and helps us to make space to encounter him.

So, I encourage you this year to make space for Advent rather than just jumping to Christmas. Feel the darkness and the waiting. From Genesis 3 to that night in Bethlehem when Emmanuel was born, the world waiting for the redemption that would come through God becoming a man through Mary's womb. Let's take these next few weeks and feel that waiting. We know what's coming, but what if we didn't? Try to make some time to reflect on that kind of darkness as you prepare for Christmas. Then, what would it be like to celebrate Christmas for 12 days into early January? Have you ever considered Epiphany? Following that, we enter Lent which takes us to Holy Week and Easter! The last event on the calendar is the celebration of Pentecost which takes us into Ordinary Time. I'm hoping to use these letters to keep us mindful of our abiding walk with Jesus as we go through the year. For many of you, I'm late to the game in this, but hopefully even you will find some encouragement as we make space to encounter God in community.

“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”

— Bertrand Russell