The page of the advent season has once again flipped open upon us with its beauty and blessedness; with its grace and glory; with its solemnity and symbolisms. It is that time of the year that carries with it a wealth of specialness and sweetness, especially for us Catholic Christians. I once developed a personal analysis of my appreciation of this sweet season. For me, the letters of the word “ADVENT” were a helpful acronym.
A – nticipate: Advent situates us in the mood of anticipation of the joyful festivities of Christmas, commemorating Christ’s first coming in history, yet with an eye on the parousia, i.e., His second and final coming in majesty and glory.
D – evotion: it is a season to be devoted to prayer, penance and praise, appreciating God’s manifold gifts and graces, His protection and provision throughout the course of the year.
V – irtues: it is a season within which the virtues and values that distinguish us Christians must be courageously lived out.
E – xchange: it is a season to emulate God’s marvelous exchange wherein He took our defaced human nature and gifted us His graceful and glorious divine nature. Hence, we too should endeavor to exchange gifts in love and joy with neighbors, friends and family.
N – ewness: it is a season that should bring about Newness of Life. We should be reawakened with a renewed vigor for righteous living occasioned by repentance.
T – ouch Lives: it is a season to touch lives. We should all be angels of joyful tidings, putting smiles on as many faces as we can, spreading love to all, including those we aren’t familiar with.
Why Special?
The specialness of this season further issues from the fact that it marks the beginning of a new liturgical calendar year. More so, because it ushers us into the joyful yuletide which takes us to the threshold of a new civil calendar year. Advent also, as we would see in the arranged liturgy, evidently reminds us that the coming of Christ, which we anticipate, is spoken of in two dimensions – the first (in the past), and the second (in the future). The first we shall celebrate in the joyful commemoration of His birth at Christmas; the second we shall keep anticipating in the expectation of his final coming at the end of time. This means that being placed between two historical eras, advent is a reminder that we live in the “today” that is sandwiched between the “yesterday” when Christ came in Bethlehem, Jerusalem and the “tomorrow” when he will come in judgment. In other words, the season reawakens us of the reality of our being situated between the dawn of a new age when He was born and the end of that age when He deigns to come again.
Notable Symbols
The Wreath
- The Circular Beam – typifies that the eternal sovereignty of the baby whose birth we await. Truly the promised Messiah is the Christ, he is God and his reign is without beginning or end. He is the supreme King robed in majesty, whose power and authority endures endlessly forever. The wreath is woven intentionally into a circular frame with a purpose to indicate the reason for the season, i.e., to prefigure the crown of thorns that He will be mocked with before his crucifixion. Again the intention is to underlie that Easter would eventually reveal the teleology of Christmas. In other words, the fact and manner of His eventual death is already being whispered into our minds from the celebration of his birth.
- The Greenery – the color {green} which already depicts vegetation speaks about life; and the purpose it serves here is to tell us of the ever green and flourishing life that Christ brings. “I am the way, truth and Life; and I have come so that they may life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10, 14:6).
- The Candles – these are the most eminent elements of the advent wreath and their placements in terms of number and color are not arbitrary. I mentioned earlier that this is a season during which the virtues that are the hallmarks of our religion are meant to be entrenched deeper in our lifestyle and this is amplified in the symbolisms of the candles of the wreath.
a. The Prophets Candle – HOPE [1st Week] – the coming of the messiah had for a long time been foretold and spoken of so highly by nearly all the ancient prophets. It was a promise that several generations of the Jewish tribes had heard of and all looked forward to its fulfillment. Each of the successive prophets nursed and nurtured the people’s expectation with the fire of Hope. Up until he was birthed in the manger, the entire Jewish nation held on to and cherished that feeling of anticipation because they were well assured that God is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2), what he says He will do, he will do. Ezek 24:14 – ‘God said, “I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back, I will not spare, I will not relent.”’
b. Bethlehem’s Candle – FAITH [2nd Week] – with this candle is evoked the Faith of Joseph and his pregnant wife while they travelled down the dusty road to Nazareth where this divinely conceived baby will be born. They had no certainties of when the delivery would be due, no idea of any maternity homes in Bethlehem where he’d be birthed. They just held on to their faith in God whose handwriting was all over the baby’s conception. The flame of this purple candle which will be lit on the 2nd week of advent will be a summons to a deepening of our faith in the person, dignity and divinity of the baby Jesus who we await at Christmas. As scripture says, Faith is the assurances of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:1,6). Like Abraham, Joseph is reckoned as a just and upright man because of his remarkable faith and complete trust in the will of God (cf. Gen 15:6, Rom 4:3, 22; Gal 3:6, Matt 1:9) and so should we. And no better time to pray that the fire of faith be rekindled in us than advent for it is the essential ingredient of our relationship with God.
c. Shepherd’s Candle – JOY [3rd Week] – the rose candle which comes alive on Gaudate Sunday echoes the heightened emotion of Joy since the day of the infant king’s birth increasingly draws near. This symbolism clearly is signaled by the joy of the shepherds who heralded the glad tidings of the greatest historic event of mankind – “a savior has been born to us” (Luke 2:8-12). Indeed by this time, the bells would have been jingling more loudly with the hymn “Joy to the world” echoing everywhere. By this time children would have been basking in the joy of their new [Christmas] clothes and shoes ready. It’s a season of joy and it behooves on us to welcome that joy and diffuse it all and about with concrete actions that bring joy to the hearts and lives of others.
d.) Angel’s Candle – PEACE [4th Week]– Micah foretold that He who’d be gifted us will be our Peace and security (Micah 2:4-6, Isaiah 54:13 Eph 2:14) and true to that, the angels announced ‘Glory to God in the highest and Peace to those among whom it has pleased him to dwell’ (Luke 2:14). This final purple candle will be lit on the last Sunday before Christmas to signal one of the principal identities of the Child who is to be given us. Not only is he the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, he is also to be addressed as the Prince of Peace. Recall that in his classical sermon on the mount, Jesus hinted that it is the extent to which we let peace reign within and around us that determines our sonship in God (Matt 5:9).
e. Christ’s Candle – LIGHT [Christmas Day] – a white candle is introduced at the dawn of the long awaited morn. It is like the others in some ways but significantly different. It comes into the wreath with a breath of freshness and its color already speaks the language of brightness, Light and Life. It is called Christ’s Candle. Like the others, it is made of wax which emphasizes that the Messiah shares our nature, in spite of its weakness and fragility (Heb 2:14-15). In order that He may be able to understand and empathize with us very practicably in our struggle against temptation, He became like us in every way but did not sin (Heb 4:15). The white candle wasn’t there since the beginning of the season but brought in at an appointed time (Gal 4:4) like Christ was to transform and enlighten all creation; to bring about renewal of all life and inaugurate mankind for a share in his glory in eternity. The white color is an invitation to a life of purity and righteousness. He calls himself the light of the world and invites us to walk with him, away from the darkness of sin and evil (John 8:12).
Conclusion
Since we are in the first week, let us conclude by emphasizing the message of the Prophets Candle – Faith. This first week of advent enjoins us all to be more trustful and reliant on the promises of God. We cannot afford to despair nor be discouraged by the sour situations that may be unfolding in our lives, in our families, businesses, investments, relationships and especially in our country. This Candle echoes the message of hope, the assurance that joy awaits ahead; there is always light at the end of the tunnel. The year may seem to be ending on a not-so-good note for some of us, things aren’t turning out as we may have wished them to but the Prophets candle of the advent wreath whispers the message that all hope can never be lost. God is not done with us yet and so we cannot throw in the towel. We must keep on striving with God-fidence. We must remember that he is Emmanuel – God-with-us. And if He be with us, nothing can stand against the fulfillment of his will in our lives (Rom 8:31).
• Rev. Fr. Chike Osamor is Associate Parish Priest, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Shibiri, Lagos.
