We are about halfway through Advent (December 1-24), the season of the church calendar that precedes Christmas.
However, in our modern world, Advent is often swept under the rug in favor of an ever-hastier launch into Christmas festivities.
Pastor Mark Anderson is a friend of Luther House of Study who retired recently after a nearly 50-year career in parish ministry. Over the years, he has witnessed the commercialization of Christmas becoming more and more rampant, bringing us to our current state of affairs where Christmas trimmings hit the shelves the day after Halloween, nearly wiping out Thanksgiving, much less Advent.
With this in mind, as well as a desire to help churches emphasize the true meaning of the season, Pastor Mark has developed a comprehensive Advent planning guide for congregations, which includes weekly planning guides, Bible studies, liturgies, activities, and hymns.
“Advent has three dimensions — He came once at Bethlehem, He comes now in Word and Sacrament, and He will come later in His time,” said Pastor Mark.
“Advent has three dimensions — He came once at Bethlehem, He comes now in Word and Sacrament, and He will come later in His time.”
“In each of those aspects, we are receiving. He’s coming for us. Advent is not only about waiting — people tend to emphasize that too much — it’s really more about anticipating His coming now in His word, the promise, and the sacraments. I look at it this way — all the seasons of the church year reflect things that are true all the time.”
Pastor Mark says that he wrote this guide to be an asset for congregations to reflect on the whole character of Advent, but also to emphasize this point of the present coming of Christ.
“It’s a way of reaffirming the coming of Christ into the midst of our very broken world. As we participate in tomorrow, He is here today. This is what this material is trying to help people come to terms with. The Gospel is an ever-present help and a source of forgiveness, strength, hope, and love,” he said.
“Even in those quiet moments of Advent longing, He is there. Advent is not simply a category, but a living reality with us and for us. Of course, churches can take this as they will, but what I really want people to do is realize that the grace of God is there for them.”
We’re also excited to share that in addition to the Advent guide, Pastor Mark is working on similar offerings for each of the church seasons, as well as Reformation Sunday.
What is the value of seasonal liturgical worship?
Pastor Mark believes strongly in the value of seasonal liturgy, and he says many congregations have begun to set aside these traditions and downplay the seasons in favor of more contemporary worship styles.
“Even in the Lutheran tradition, people crave excitement. All of my material is written from the perspective of the theology of the cross. In a way, I’m trying to throw a sea anchor out and say, ‘Hey, let’s take another look at what the seasons can be.’”
“It’s not a good idea to get up in the morning and reinvent yourself every day,” he added, referring to congregations that pursue a more contemporary or non-denominational approach to worship.
“That gets pretty exhausting, but the church seasons give us a train to ride on. You move from one coach to the other but the train keeps going.”
He adds that the cultural shift away from religious holidays and traditions which are observed on specific days, rather than dragging on and on, has damaged our capacity to truly celebrate.
“Contemporary people are ritually incompetent, they’re afraid of it,” he said. “Liturgy teaches you how to engage the faith in a celebratory way, a joyful way, a way in which you can then inhabit your sadness, your loss, all of these aspects of liturgy are relevant. They teach us how to live in Christ in the world.”
“The thing about the liturgy is it relieves you from having to bring yourself into worship and provide something. It puts you in the backseat. We come with broken selves, as sinful people in need. That’s what we’re bringing — a broken mess of a person — God is coming in to heal, restore, and renew us.”
“The Lutheran church at its best fully recognizes that we come to worship with empty hands, once again conscious of our bondage to sin and death.”
“The Lutheran church at its best fully recognizes that we come to worship with empty hands, once again conscious of our bondage to sin and death.”
We at Luther House are grateful for the partnership in ministry we have with Pastor Mark! You can learn more about Pastor Mark and his work by visiting his website below.
