Bishop’s Musings: December 5, 2025

A common complaint among some church leaders at this time of year goes something like this: “People in the congregation want to skip Advent and go right to Christmas.” I’ve been giving this some thought as I prepare a sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent at a congregation that has decided not to follow the lectionary, but instead will be hearing the Annunciation to Mary, “Greetings, favored one! …” In our three-year cycle, this reading falls on the Fourth Sunday in Advent, year B, much closer to the day of Christmas. Is there something wrong with this?

I must admit that in my earlier days in ministry, keeping Advent separate from Christmas was very important to me. I chafed when the congregation wanted to put up their Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving and, worse still, decorate it. I would become annoyed with those for whom Christmas ended after presents were opened, at the discarded Christmas trees lining the curb on December 26th, and the apparent ignorance of the seasons. I did not want to sing Christmas hymns in Advent, and I even chafed a little when I saw that Evangelical Lutheran Worship had recategorized Joy to the World from Christmas to Advent.

The Advent lectionary has a consistent pattern in each of the three lectionary cycles. The Gospel reading on the first Sunday reminds us of the coming of the Son of Man and has us thinking about Christ’s return in glory to complete all things. We then have two weeks of hearing about John the Baptist, who heralds the coming of Jesus into active ministry among God’s chosen people and beyond. Jesus is proclaimed as the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire and the one who opens the eyes of the blind, cleanses lepers, opens deaf ears, and proclaims good news to the poor.

Only when we come to the last Sunday in Advent do we finally read about the days leading up to his birth, the annunciations by angels to Mary and Joseph, Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, and Mary’s hymn of praise and hope, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord …”

The lectionary design reminds us that Advent is more than a season that looks to our celebration of the birth of a messiah; in its order of readings, we are reminded that our Lord comes not only in the past—a baby born in Bethlehem; an itinerant preacher in Galilee and Judea; a man killed by the state with the complicity of his own people; one proclaimed as raised from the dead and ascended to heaven—we also have the promise that he will come again in the future.

I believe hidden in these two advents is a third. Similar to our proclamation of the mystery of faith—Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again—in which we speak of a present reality, I think this season calls on us to recognize that our Lord comes even now. It is not enough for us to focus on the celebration of a baby’s birth; nor should we only look to a future coming. Advent is a time for us to remember as well the many ways Jesus becomes present to us, in us, and through us; in word and water, bread and wine; in Confession and Absolution; in mutual consolation; and in those who reach out in need.

So, I wonder: how can we provoke one another to observe Christ’s coming today? And when we sing the words of the hymn, “be born in us today”, will others be able to see Jesus present in our lives?