As of last Sunday, the liturgical season of Advent is upon Western Christians once again. While I appreciate Advent and enjoy this time of the year, I am concerned about the way that Advent is understood in contemporary North American Lutheranism, and I hope this contribution can be at least a small part of reclaiming an older and helpful tradition.
Allow me to explain. While in high school and as a college and seminary student, I was taught to view Advent as a penitential season parallel to Lent. Just as Lent precedes Easter, so Advent precedes Christmas, was the thought. The result was that Advent was understood as a time of introspection and preparation for the coming of Christ and of Christmas. It was not meant to be a time of joy. That would have to wait until the evening of December 24. Until then, we were exhorted to engage in various spiritual disciplines before we truly appreciated the arrival of Christ.
My experience as an international pastoral intern in Leipzig, Germany opened my eyes to a different way of thinking about Advent. When Advent began in that winter of 2004, the German Lutheran congregation with which I was connected in Leipzig, the historic St. Thomas Church, approached Advent in a radically different way. What I experienced that year was not a gloomy penitential season focused on human works of preparation, but rather a joyful time of proclamation of the coming of Christ for us. One of the key differences was in the selection of Scripture readings for the Sundays of Advent.
The historic one-year lectionary of the Western Christian Church, which was used by Luther himself and the subsequent Lutheran tradition, was used by Lutheran preachers in North America as recently as the Service Book and Hymnal of 1958. That lectionary largely fell into disuse, however, after the appearance of the three-year Common Lectionary after the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. Especially impacted by this shift was the season of Advent.
The gospel readings for the season of Advent in the historic one-year lectionary began with the story of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the same reading used for Palm Sunday. Lutheran preachers used this as an opportunity to talk about the coming of Christ in the flesh for us in the past. They continued with the second Sunday of Advent, which focused on the theme of eschatology, of Jesus’ promised second coming. The third and fourth Sundays of Advent both focused on the figure of John the Baptist/Baptizer. Because he pointed to Jesus, he was lifted up as an example of correct preaching. Therefore, these readings provided an opportunity to talk about the coming of Christ in the present, through the preaching of the Word.
Thus, Lutheran preachers emphasized three Advents: Christ has come; Christ will come again; Christ comes to us even now through the proclamation of the gospel. Advent was not a gloomy season of penitential preparation, but rather one of joyful hope in the promised coming of Christ for us. For those preachers who desire to return to this focus of Advent, I have provided Scripture readings in a three year cycle that restore this tradition of the historic one-year lectionary.
Chart of Readings
A B C
1 Jer. 23:5-8 Zeph. 3:14-20 Is. 35:1-10
Ps. 24 Ps. 25:1-10 Ps. 126
Rom. 13: (8-10) 11-14 Rom. 1:1-7 Rom. 15:4-13
Mt. 21:1-11 Mk. 11:1-11 Lk. 19:28-40
2 Is. 2:1-5 Is. 64:1-9 Is. 61:1-4, 8-11
Ps. 121 Ps. 146 Ps. 50:1-15
1 Th. 3:9-13 1 Cor. 1:3-9 Jas. 5:7-11
Mt. 24:29-44 Mk. 13:24-37 Lk. 21:25-36
3 Is. 40:1-8 (9-11) Mal. 3:1-7 Mal. 4:1-6
Ps. 85 Ps. 111 Ps. 89:1-5, 19-29
1 Cor. 4:1-5 Phil. 4:4-7 Rom. 16:25-27
Mt. 11:2-15 Jn. 1:6-8, 19-28 Lk. 7:18-28
4 Is. 11:1-10 Dt. 18:15-19 Mic. 5:2-5a
Ps. 72:1-7 Ps. 66:1-12 Ps. 80:1-7
Phil. 1:2-11 2 Pet. 3:8-14 Heb. 10:5-10
Mt. 3:1-12 Mk. 1:1-8 Lk. 1:39-56
Allow me to explain. While in high school and as a college and seminary student, I was taught to view Advent as a penitential season parallel to Lent. Just as Lent precedes Easter, so Advent precedes Christmas, was the thought. The result was that Advent was understood as a time of introspection and preparation for the coming of Christ and of Christmas. It was not meant to be a time of joy. That would have to wait until the evening of December 24. Until then, we were exhorted to engage in various spiritual disciplines before we truly appreciated the arrival of Christ.
My experience as an international pastoral intern in Leipzig, Germany opened my eyes to a different way of thinking about Advent. When Advent began in that winter of 2004, the German Lutheran congregation with which I was connected in Leipzig, the historic St. Thomas Church, approached Advent in a radically different way. What I experienced that year was not a gloomy penitential season focused on human works of preparation, but rather a joyful time of proclamation of the coming of Christ for us. One of the key differences was in the selection of Scripture readings for the Sundays of Advent.
The historic one-year lectionary of the Western Christian Church, which was used by Luther himself and the subsequent Lutheran tradition, was used by Lutheran preachers in North America as recently as the Service Book and Hymnal of 1958. That lectionary largely fell into disuse, however, after the appearance of the three-year Common Lectionary after the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. Especially impacted by this shift was the season of Advent.
The gospel readings for the season of Advent in the historic one-year lectionary began with the story of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the same reading used for Palm Sunday. Lutheran preachers used this as an opportunity to talk about the coming of Christ in the flesh for us in the past. They continued with the second Sunday of Advent, which focused on the theme of eschatology, of Jesus’ promised second coming. The third and fourth Sundays of Advent both focused on the figure of John the Baptist/Baptizer. Because he pointed to Jesus, he was lifted up as an example of correct preaching. Therefore, these readings provided an opportunity to talk about the coming of Christ in the present, through the preaching of the Word.
Thus, Lutheran preachers emphasized three Advents: Christ has come; Christ will come again; Christ comes to us even now through the proclamation of the gospel. Advent was not a gloomy season of penitential preparation, but rather one of joyful hope in the promised coming of Christ for us. For those preachers who desire to return to this focus of Advent, I have provided Scripture readings in a three year cycle that restore this tradition of the historic one-year lectionary.
Chart of Readings
A B C
1 Jer. 23:5-8 Zeph. 3:14-20 Is. 35:1-10
Ps. 24 Ps. 25:1-10 Ps. 126
Rom. 13: (8-10) 11-14 Rom. 1:1-7 Rom. 15:4-13
Mt. 21:1-11 Mk. 11:1-11 Lk. 19:28-40
2 Is. 2:1-5 Is. 64:1-9 Is. 61:1-4, 8-11
Ps. 121 Ps. 146 Ps. 50:1-15
1 Th. 3:9-13 1 Cor. 1:3-9 Jas. 5:7-11
Mt. 24:29-44 Mk. 13:24-37 Lk. 21:25-36
3 Is. 40:1-8 (9-11) Mal. 3:1-7 Mal. 4:1-6
Ps. 85 Ps. 111 Ps. 89:1-5, 19-29
1 Cor. 4:1-5 Phil. 4:4-7 Rom. 16:25-27
Mt. 11:2-15 Jn. 1:6-8, 19-28 Lk. 7:18-28
4 Is. 11:1-10 Dt. 18:15-19 Mic. 5:2-5a
Ps. 72:1-7 Ps. 66:1-12 Ps. 80:1-7
Phil. 1:2-11 2 Pet. 3:8-14 Heb. 10:5-10
Mt. 3:1-12 Mk. 1:1-8 Lk. 1:39-56
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