St. Andrew's Episcopal Church,
Arlington,
Virginia
Advent 2005
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ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY
O come, 0 Rod of Jesse's stem,
From every foe deliver them
That trust your mighty power to save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Latin hymn, Ninth Century
Advent is the first season of the Church Year, beginning this year on
Sunday December 3 and ending with the arrival of Christmas. "Advent" is
taken from the Latin word "adventus," meaning "coming." During the season
of Advent, we are preparing for the coming of Christ, both in His Birth at
Christmas and at the Second Coming. Therefore, the theme of the season is
preparation.
The lectionary appointed for the season illustrates and illuminates that
theme. The Old Testament prophecies (all four Sundays) and the New
Testament stories of Jesus' teaching (the First Sunday), the ministry of John
the Baptist (the second and third Sundays), and the angel Gabriel's
announcement to Mary (the fourth Sunday), each call us to reflect upon
different aspects of the central Advent idea of preparation for the coming of
Christ.
Therefore, each Advent we are called to prepare ourselves, as we
realize that we are one year further away from our baptism and one year
closer to judgment. Since the Final Judgment will reveal Christ's complete
victory over the powers of sin and death, we must prepare ourselves so that
we may share that victory with Him. Christ is to be welcomed as our Savior
and King at Christmas, but also with the awareness that He is also our Judge.
Advent is also a season that teaches us the value of waiting and
patience. We are not called to passive waiting, but to using our time to
prepare and anticipate. Just as we take time to prepare a special dinner or
dress the nursery for a new baby, we should prepare our hearts during the
Advent season to welcome the Christ.
Glory, glory, sing the angels,
While music sounds from strings and cymbals;
All humankind, with songs arise!
Twelve the gates into the city,
Each one a pearl of shining beauty;
The streets of gold ring out with praise.
All creatures round the throne
Adore the holy One
With rejoicing:
Amen be sung
By ev'ry tongue
To crown their welcome to the King.
Philipp Nocolai, Sixteenth century
Christmas is the splendid culmination of the preparations of Advent.
Christmas, literally "Christ's Mass," is the season celebrating the Incarnation
and is centered around the Nativity of our Lord on December 25, commonly
called Christmas Day. Gifts are associated with this festival reflecting the
offerings of the Wise Men to the Infant Savior.
The Christmas season lasts for twelve days. It would seem that after the
serious preparation of Advent that we would want to extend this festival, but
all too often, we diminish it by only keeping Christmas on December 25th. If
we keep a holy Advent, Christmas is a fulfillment and a time for rejoicing,
not an anticlimax.
The Christmas season also includes the Feast of the Holy Name on
January 1st. This day, once referred to as the Feast of the Circumcision,
celebrates the Infant Lord receiving the name of Jesus and being circumcised,
as required by Jewish Law. This day is a reminder that Christ came not to
abolish the Law but to fulfill it.
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O God, who by the leading of a star
didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the
peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know thee
now by faith, to they presence, where we
may behold thy glory face to face.
Collect for Epiphany, Book of Common Prayer |
Epiphany, 6 January, is the feast day which ends the Christmas season. Epiphany means a "manifestation or showing forth." On the Feast of the Epiphany, we remember the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, the Wise Men who had traveled from the East in search of Him. Traditionally, this is considered one of the three manifestations of Christ, the others being at the wedding at Cana and the Transfiguration.
At Ephiphany, we are charged to see God as He has manifested Himself to us and, in turn, to serve ourselves as manifestations of the love of God. The Epiphany seeason includes the celebration of the Baptism of Christ, reminding us of our baptism into Christ and into His Body, the Church.
ST. ANDREW'S TRADITIONS OF ADVENT
The Advent Wreath
The source of the Advent Wreath as we now know it is most likely the
fire wheel used by ancient Teutonic tribes to honor the Sun God. To Christians, both the circular shape of the wreath and the evergreens used to construct it represent the eternal nature of God. The candles represent the Light of Christ.
The candles on the Advent Wreath are lit successively, until all are ablaze on the Fourth Sunday in Advent. There are four candles, three violet and one rose. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, referred to as "Gaudete" or "Rose Rejoicing" Sunday (from the epistle and introit which speak of "rejoicing in the Lord always"). "Rose Rejoicing Sunday" shows how anticipated joy over our Savior's coming breaks through all our serious Advent preparation. A white candle, usually in the center of the wreath, is often lit on Christmas Day to point to Christ as the true Light of the World.
The Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree is named for Jesse, the Father of David, who was descended from Adam and Seth through Shem and Boaz and became the ancestor of the royal and Messianic line of Judah. Thus, his name traditionally designates Christ's genealogical descendants represented as a tree having its roots in Jesse: "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse" - ls.ll:l. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus announces himself with the words: "...I am the root and the descendant of David..."
At St. Andrew's, on the First Sunday of Advent we decorate a tree with
symbols of God's Covenant with the Israelites from David to Jesus. Examples of the decorations are: the Star of David, the crown, harp, shepherd's crook, lamb, and scroll. All are references to David, the shepherd boy selected to become King.
St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor (near modern Finke,
Turkey) in the fourth century. He was one of the bishops who attended the Council of Nicea which wrote the Nicene Creed. In 1087, Italian merchants and sailors took his body from his tomb in Asia Minor to a new shrine in Bari, Italy, where it is still venerated. His feast day is December 6th.
Legends about St. Nicholas are plentiful. During the night in secret, the
saint is said to have thrown three bags of gold into the window of a poor nobleman as a dowry for his three daughters. In a legend with overtones of the story of the loaves and Fishes, St. Nicholas saves Myra in time of famine.
Bishop Nicholas begged grain from merchant ships arriving at his city, telling the sailors that no grain would be missing in their Final weighing in if they only spared some. Miraculously, the sailors arrived at their final destination with full ships, while St. Nicholas used the grain he had been given to feed his people and, as a special friend of the children, to make treats for them. After the American Revolution, the legends of St. Nicholas were revived by the Dutch in the New York colonies. With the publication of Dr. Clement Moore's poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in December 1823, St. Nicholas became the "jolly old elf" we know as "Santa Claus."
St. Nicholas is a patron saint of Russia and Greece, as well as bankers, pawnbrokers, girls hoping to marry, women hoping for children, sailors, butchers, boat makers, thieves, prisoners and children. He is most often portrayed with white hair and beard, dressed as a bishop and seated on a white or gray horse.
In the Episcopal Church, December 6 is the feast day of St. Nicholas.
St. Andrew's will celebrate St. Nicholas Day on Sunday, December 7.
St. Lucy (St. Lucia)
St. Lucy was a 4th century Roman Christian martyr during the persecutions
that took place under the Emperor Diocletian.
Because the name means "light," she very early became the great patron saint for the "Light of the Body" - the eyes. In Scandinavia before the Reformation, Saint Lucy Day was one of unusual celebration and festivity because, for the people of Sweden and Norway, she was the great "Light Saint" who turned the tides of their long winter and brought the light of day to renewed victory.
In Sweden, the Christmas season is officially begun on St. Lucy's feast
day, December 13. Early on that morning, the eldest daughter dresses in a long white dress tied at the waist with the martyr's red sash. She wears a crown of lighted candles on her head. The "Lucy bride" awakens her family, offering them coffee or chocolate and sweet "Lucy" buns. St. Lucy is thus identified with acts of love among family members. St. Andrew's will celebrate St. Lucy's feast day on Sunday, December 14.
The Creche
The custom of building a creche or manger scene is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi during the thirteenth century. "Now three years before his death. . . he was minded to celebrate the memory of the birth of the child Jesus. . . he sought and obtained license from the Supreme Pontiff, and then made ready a manger, and bade hay, together with an ox and an ass, be brought into the place. . . . The man of God, filled with tender love stood before the manger. . . chanting the holy Gospel." (from St. Bonaventure's Life of St. Francis of Assisi, ca.l263)
At St. Andrew's, we celebrate the memory of the birth of the child Jesus with the service "Blessing of the Creche" at the 5pm Holy Eucharist on Christmas Eve. With our children participating, we hear once more the message of the angels to go to Bethlehem to see the Son of God lying in a manger and we make this place glad with our carols and praise.
Chrismon Decorations
With Christ's birth, a new covenant was instituted. In many places the parish Christmas tree is adorned with Chrismons, or "Christ symbols" - ornaments traditionally fashioned in white and gold. Examples of Chrismons are the Chi Rho and Alpha and Omega fashioned in white, which represents the purity of Christ and gold, for the Kingship of our Lord. These emphasize that we see Christ both as the fulfillment of the old covenant and the beginning of the new covenant with God. At St. Andrew's Chrismons are added to the parish Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.
Images
Giovanni Savoldo, Adoration of the Shepherds. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Unknown Master, Flemish. Annunciation. Groeninge Museum, Bruges
Jacques Daret. Altarpiece of the Virgin, Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Bartolomeo Vivarini, St. Nicholas of Bari. Panel, Church of S. Stefano, Venice
Simon Martini, St. Lucy (detail). Berenson Collection, Settignano
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St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 4000 Lorcom Lane, Arlington, Virginia. (703) 522-1600