Advent Day 1

 1.  Genesis 1: 1-20

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. 

In our Advent journey we start, very fittingly, at the very beginning. Very often, we consider Advent only in terms of the period before Christmas.  If Advent only signalled the coming of the Jesus as a baby, it would be significant enough – but we should never consider it as so!

Advent is a period of preparation for the return of Christ, rather than simply as a memorial of the birth of Christ.  It is a constant reminder that Christmas should always be a living memorial rather than a yearly celebration of a birthday.

When we think back to Genesis (which literally means “beginning”) we usually only think about the physical Creation, and then the downfall of humanity through their very first act of rebellion against God.  Let us remember that the first thing that God created was Light, the first thing that He thought was “Good”, and represents the end of darkness with the introduction of light to shine through it.

We then consider Christmas as a late response from God to this rebellion, or sin, by the very miraculous act of God becoming man, in the very flesh. We will often link Christmas with Easter – and rightly so – but we should always remember that the acts of Christmas, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are all linked right back to the Garden of Eden.

Advent also links us to the end times – in preparation for the ultimate return of Christ the King with his angel armies.  This will be the ultimate return the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus that He would return again. 

As we start our Advent journey in 2021 – let’s be mindful that this period is the bridge that links the beginning of Creation with the ultimate return of Christ the King!

Collect

Almighty God, Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.