The Christian year begins on Advent Sunday. In our three-year cycle of readings, we start Year C which highlights the Gospel of Luke. Advent is a four-week season of preparation for a great event.
Unlike the shops and streets, which are a blaze of lights and colour at this time of the year, the church looks empty and drab. The liturgical colour is purple, just one shade away from black. There are no flowers and the joyful "Glory to God in the highest" (Gloria) has given way to the more sombre "Lord, have mercy" (Kyrie eleison). This is because Advent is a serious time. We are preparing for the human birth of God's son into poverty and suffering. We recall our own unworthiness in contrast to God's amazing generosity. This sombre atmosphere reflects a world where "the people walked in darkness". Furthermore, during Advent we are encouraged to contemplate the end of all things, and, in particular, the second coming of Christ in judgement.
When Christmas actually arrives, these four weeks of Advent restraint actually highlight the glory of the feast. This is in contrast to the secular mood, which is often one of anticlimax or exhaustion after all the garishness and hectic activity. At our Christmas services, the effect of the flowers and other decorations in church is increased. The Gloria sounds out with greater joy and significance. The colour is white for celebration, symbolising the light of Christ coming into the world. It contrasts with the actual darkness outside, with the short days and the bareness of the vegetation. The coming of Christ is a sign of hope, a sign that there is still life.
In properly keeping the seasons, the Church is teaching us about important Christian truths. As so often, this teaching is not just done through words or by engaging the brain only. This is teaching by experience - by seeing, doing and reflecting. The last is important, especially when the symbolism is unfamiliar to you. Ask yourself: what do these changes in colour and mood tell me about God and his purposes?
As you do so, you will realise that this is not just dead tradition but a way of linking together our human situation, creation and God's purposes. It should not surprise us that we are encouraged to take note of these details, for keeping the seasons is a means of expounding the mystery of the Incarnation, that is, in Jesus,God the Word became flesh.
PMP