1. The coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important
2. The period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting
Advent is from the Latin and it means "coming".
Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.
God created the Heavens and the Earth. Everything was good. He made man, who was lonely, so he gave him a companion. They lived in complete perfection with access to everything, except for one tree. The two disobeyed, and ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. As a result of their wrong doing, they were kicked out of the garden with no way of re-entry.
Years later, God made a promise to a man. He promised that He would bless him and make his offspring as many as the stars in the sky. The man and his wife were old and had no children. God stayed true to His promise and gave them a baby boy.
His chosen people, the offspring He had promised, had a history of disobeying God, apologizing, following the Lord, disobeying, apologizing, following, disobeying, apologizing, and following... It was their pattern (Mine too, might I add). God eventually let them do what they wanted to do, so much to a point that
He
was
silent.
He was silent for about 400 years. This is the time period between the Old and New Testaments. No communication, no audible voice, no prophets, no angels, nothing but silence. I'm sure they prayed but no answers.
God was silent.
Had he abandoned them?
Where was He?
Then an angel appears to a young girl, her husband-to-be, and their relatives all at different times with a message from the Lord. It's been such a long time since anyone has heard a message from God, so they must have been terrified. The angel says to them all," Do not be afraid." God is doing something and is using those who were anticipating the arrival of the One who would rescue them from the oppression they were facing. God spoke!
I put myself in Mary's sandals for a moment. In my head it's something like this: I'm a young girl, and an angel comes and tells me I'm going to have a baby. (Woah! What, Angel??) Then I say wait a minute, Angel! I haven't been with a man, so how can this be??? For real? "Not just ANY baby, but GOD'S baby... Mary, don't be afraid!" (Yeah, right, Angel!) But that's how it happened.
Now Mary, an expectant young mother, anticipates the arrival of her first born.
What are things that we're expectant of?
(Synonyms of expectant: anxious, anticipating, awaiting, eager, hopeful, looking for, ready, vigilant, watchful)
-Paydays ($$ not the candybar, although maybe someone is eager for candybars)
-Vacation
-Birthdays
-Christmas Morning
-First Day of School (I guess we're expectant of good things and not so good things)
-Birth of babies
-Returning home after a long absence
-Getting a drivers license
-Learning to Read
-Owning a home
-Living on our own for the first time
-First Jobs
-Marriage
-First dates
-Engagements
Those are a few things I think MOST people are expectant of.
The Christchild's coming into the world changed EVERYTHING. Nothing has or ever will be the same. After years of silence, God sent His son, Jesus, to the world. So NOT only is He speaking, BUT He is in the body of a man. For 33 years, Jesus walked on the earth-
God speaking,
God doing,
God loving,
God understanding man.
After His death and resurrection, He sent the Holy Spirit. The advent of the promised Comforter ensures that God will never again be silent.
Anticpate more than just the gifts your family and friends give you. Your Heavenly Father's gifts are way more precious.
