Crosstalk: 'What will He say to you?'
Did you remember to buy your Advent Calendar? What great fun, as we tick off the 24 days to Christmas Day!
We open the little doors and find treats hiding inside, chocolates, teddy bears, cuddly toys, lots of animals, dogs, sheep, and especially penguins. In calendars for grown-ups you might find perfume, bubble bath, moisturising cream, socks, various types of tea and we even came across a super-duper top-of-the-range version with Wedgwood fine bone China for a cool £860! How could we resist the temptation?
So what is Advent all about? The word comes from the Latin "adventus" meaning "coming". It is the time in the liturgical year when our thoughts are focussed on the first coming of Jesus, The Saviour, and His birth, which we shall be celebrating shortly on Christmas Day. At the same time, it looks forward to the Second Coming, when He returns to Earth to take His followers home.
Why is it that most Advent Calendars seem to miss this point? So Advent looks back and also forwards. We wonder what will you say to Jesus when He returns? What is perhaps more critical, is what will He say to you?
Ivan and Jacqueline Hacking, Church of England, Christchurch, Bayston Hill
