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Advent 2003
Why an Advent study?
Advent as a formal season in the life of the Church arrived fairly late on the scene. It was not until the time of Gregory the Great (540-604) that the Church in Rome formally celebrated Advent. However, there are records of such a season in the East and parts of Western Europe earlier. At one time there were 6 weeks of Advent to parallel Lent's preparation for Easter. When Rome adopted the season it was limited to 4 weeks beginning on the Sunday closest to St. Andrew's day 30th November.
Why should we take time out in the busiest time of the year for a study? We need to prepare ourselves for Christmas. It is perhaps even more important to take time out in Advent than in Lent, when we prepare for Easter, as our celebration of Christ's birth has been taken over by the commercial world. The essence of Christmas may be lost unless we take time to reflect on what the nativity says anew each year.
About this series
In this series we will follow a short story which seeks to parallel the nativity story in a modern setting. The story does not seek to make theological statements such as the virgin birth, and some of the comparisons you may find trivial. However, the intent is to ask the question “Where are they now?” Where can we see the Christmas story acted out each day in our own community? The story has been divided into four sections to tie in with the four study sessions. On a first reading it may be helpful to read the whole story and then return to each section as you consider the questions surrounding the particular characters both in the nativity story and our present day. At the end of the series you should spend some time looking back over the story both biblical and contemporary reflecting on any learnings you have made.
All biblical quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version