Advent 1Year C“Wait”Main point: What do we do while we wait?INTRODUCTIONIf you're looking for a gentle, nostalgic introduction to the countdown to Christmas, you won't find those sentiments in today's gospel.Welcome to the first Sunday of Advent! Advent is a unique season of waiting and pondering as the days get shorter, the nights get longer, and our hibernation instincts begin to kick in as we anticipate the long harsh winter. This unique season carries with it a unique message. Typically, in our culture, Advent is little more than a countdown to Christmas. We see Advent calendars of every imaginable type in the entrance to Walmart.  We see other countdowns to Christmas mixed into the Christmas decorations, which, if you don't already have yours up, are you already behind the eight ball? These are all  lovely celebrations, of course. We rightly feel some anticipation for the birth of Jesus and all the hope, love, joy, and peace that it brings.  We look forward to the celebrations and the gatherings and the concerts and all the rest. But for centuries, the Church observed Advent as a time of preparation for the great Feast of Christmas. And just as Lent is a time of preparation for the great feast of Easter, so too did the Church use Advent as a great time of preparation for Christmas through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (charitable giving).Prayer is still linked to Advent to a great degree if you are an observant Christian.Almsgiving (charitable giving) is still linked to Advent (and especially Christmas) to a great degree).Fasting - not so much. I’m not even sure how that would work in today’s culture with so many parties and celebrations in the weeks leading up to Christmas.The time we are in: We also have to touch on the time we are in as Christians. ..  In our era (our epoch), here and now, we find ourselves between the inauguration of Jesus as king and the fulfillment of Jesus as king. This whole period of time between the birth of Christ and the return of Christ is one giant epoch. These are the last days.

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