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From the Pastor’s Desk:

Waiting in Hope: The Season of Advent

As the days grow shorter and the nights grow long, the Church enters the quiet, expectant season of Advent. The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning ‘coming’ or ‘arrival.’ It marks the beginning of the Church year and centers us on two comings of Christ—his humble birth in Bethlehem and his promised return in glory. Advent is a time to pause, watch, and wait in hope for God’s presence that comes among us again and again in Word and Sacrament.

While the world outside speeds toward Christmas with decorations and celebration, Advent invites us to slow down. It is a season of preparation—spiritual rather than commercial—calling us to reflect on what it means to live in the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet.’ Christ has already come to redeem the world, and yet we wait for the fullness of that redemption to be revealed. As Martin Luther wrote, we are people who live ‘in faith toward God and in love toward the neighbor,’ trusting in God’s promises even when they are not yet fully visible.

The Color of the Season
In many Lutheran congregations, blue is the color of Advent—a deep, serene shade that evokes the predawn sky, full of promise that light will soon break forth. Blue is the color of hope and expectation, reminding us that our salvation dawns not through our own striving but through God’s steadfast faithfulness.

In some churches, purple continues to be used, connecting Advent to Lent as a season of repentance and preparation. Whether blue or purple, the color sets Advent apart from the joy and brightness of Christmas, creating space for reflection, anticipation, and prayerful waiting.

The Symbols of Advent
The Advent wreath has become the most recognizable symbol of this season. The circle of evergreen branches symbolizes God’s eternal love—a love that has no beginning and no end. Around the wreath stand four candles, one for each week of Advent, and in the center often a fifth—the Christ candle—lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

The four candles carry multiple layers of meaning, reflecting the richness of the season’s themes. In many traditions, they represent Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love—the gifts Christ brings into the world. Other traditions associate them with Patriarchs, Prophets, Shepherds, and Angels, reminding us of the great story of salvation that leads to the birth of Jesus. Still others name them for Expectation, Faith, Joy, and Purity—each pointing us to God’s promise fulfilled in Christ.

The third candle, often rose or pink, is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for ‘rejoice.’ Even in the midst of waiting, we are called to joy, for the Lord is near.  In some traditions, the pink candle is lit on the fourth Sunday.

Other symbols enrich our Advent practice: the Jesse Tree, which tells the story of God’s covenant through generations; the Advent calendar, which helps us mark time with anticipation; and the music of longing—hymns like ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ and ‘Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus’—that give voice to the world’s deep yearning for renewal.

Living the Season
Advent calls us to faithful waiting. This waiting is not passive but active—an invitation to prepare our hearts, reconcile with others, and participate in God’s work of healing and hope. We wait for Christ to come to us, even as he already does—through Scripture proclaimed, forgiveness spoken, bread broken, and the cup shared. In these means of grace, God continues to come among us, revealing Christ’s light in the midst of our everyday lives.

As we light the candles week by week, we bear witness to that light. Each flame pushes back the darkness, proclaiming the good news that ‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.’ Advent reminds us that God’s promises are trustworthy and that our hope is not in vain.

So we wait, not in despair, but in faith. We watch for the dawn. We sing our longing. And we trust that the God who came to dwell with us in Bethlehem still comes to us today—and will one day come again to make all things new.

As each candle on the Advent wreath is lit this year, ask yourself: where do you most need Christ’s light and hope to shine in your life—and how might you share that light with someone else?