Happy New Church Year to all. Today (29th November 2009) is Advent Sunday - the first day in the Church's year - and the first day in the Advent Season when we prepare for Christmas. Advent comes from a Latin word adventus, which means 'coming' or 'arrival'.

During Advent we think of two particular times of waiting for an arrival. We remember the people of God waiting for their Messiah (annointed one) to appear. As Christians, we believe that this waiting was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ into our world - the appearance of God into our human day-to-day messiness. The two jargon words that Christians use for this appearance of God in the form of Jesus are 'manifestation' and 'incarnation'.

Many Christians follow a prayer scheme during Advent. The one I shall use this year is shown here. However, if you're a bit slow off the mark, or missed the bookshop there are some excellent on-line resources to help.

You might like to try looking at Ignatian Spirituality's Advent resources. In particular, I liked the look of the weekly on-line retreat at Making the Parts Whole.

The other waiting for an arrival that we remember in Advent is the Second Coming or Parousia, as it is technically named! The Bible teaches that one day Christ will come again in glory - we have no idea when - but Christians throughout the ages have yearned for this coming.

But I always feel a little anxious that, at this time, we do not forget Christ's other way of being manifest in the world - and that is through us. We are all made in the image of God and therefore bear many marks of God's identity. We can squash these down or build them up in our lives - we have choices.

Take a few minutes to dwell on the words of Paul of Tarsus - if we take these seriously, they are truly life-changing.

1 Corinthians 3.16:

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

Colossians 1.27:

To them God chose to make known how great... are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Christ in me, Christ in you - wow! We can be temples where God dwells within and like John the Baptist we can say, 'He must become more and I must become less'.

Enjoy Advent. (personally, I love all the lights!)

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Ah, back once more in the 'green season' - or 'ordinary time' to others. Some reading this may have no idea what I'm talking about so here's a quick deffo.

Our natural year starts in January and has four seasons, but the church year starts on Advent Sunday at the beginning of December and has a number of seasons starting with Advent then progressing to Christmas, Epiphany, a little pre-Lent interlude, then Lent itself, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost - which starts on the old 'Whit Sunday' and ends one week later on Trinity Sunday. Through these seasons we remember and celebrate different aspects of the life-story of Jesus.

Trinity Sunday marks the start of 'ordinary time' - or as I like to call it the 'green season'. It lasts till Advent (or till the Kingdom Season in November if your church does that) and encompasses most of June - October/November each year. The church colours are green, so the altar cloth, the vicar's stole (the scarf thing round his/her neck) etc. are all green.

Some Christians are sad when the green season comes because most of the significant fasts and feasts have ended for a few months. But, for myself, I love the green season. I like the sense of ordinariness about it - I do tend to feel a bit 'festivalled out' by the time the leaves on the trees match the season with their rich green (that's here in the UK - sorry to those who live elsewhere!).

For me, there is a sense of stability and gentleness about this season. Benedictine monks and nuns take a vow of 'stability'. They promise to be steadily faithful and committed to their community - Benedictines are not usually wandering monks! The steadiness and continuity of the green season reminds me of this stability of life and draws me towards a willingness to be faithful and committed to my own community and congregation.

There is also a peace and gentleness in our worship during this season - the dramas of Christmas and Easter are not in direct focus - and there is time to think about some ordinary things that get pushed out in the constantly changing pattern through the rest of the church year.

I wonder, does anyone else feel this way? Are there any other green season fans out there?

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