The Story of Advent
December 9th, 2022
The story of Advent is, in some ways, a story of home—of Jesus leaving His home in heaven to come to our world, of families eagerly anticipating reunions “back home” to celebrate Christ’s birth, and of each of us finding a home for our hearts in the true meaning of the Christmas season.
Despite growing up in church, my first memorable exposure to the term Advent occurred when I started dating my husband, Patrick, whose family follows a different Christian tradition. I remember attending services with his family, being in awe of the warm glow of their church sanctuary, and wondering at this thing called Advent. Rather than having a single Sunday in late December devoted to the story of Jesus in the manger, their tradition devoted an entire season to preparing their hearts and minds for Christmas. I found this to be a beautiful practice both of inviting the Holy Spirit to be at home in us throughout the busyness of the Christmas season and of us finding our home (hope, love, joy, and peace) in Him.
The idea of “home” might mean any number of things (not all of them easy) to you, and our view of home might change across different seasons of life. But, the warmth and beauty of the Advent season offer a simple but poignant reminder that we can find a home in Christ this Christmas—and we can invite Him to find his home in our hearts (John 14:23). After all, as the song says, “there’s no place like home for the holidays.”
- Sarah Marsh