A Christmas Tradition
Updated: Nov 29, 2021
Reclaiming Christmas for Christ
Christmas is my favorite time of year. I actually enjoy many of the external Christmassy things that we do as a culture. I love Christmas music and movies (the classics), decorating and gift exchanging. It brings me joy to consider what to buy for my family and how I can surprise them. It brings me joy to think about all of the fun and meaningful things we will do as a church family during this season. And above all it brings me joy to teach people about the advent and incarnation of our Savior and Lord.
There are many people who do not share my sentiment, and that is quite understandable. It makes sense for Christians to struggle to enjoy Christmas. As the great animated classic A Charlie Brown Christmas displays, the season is so full of commercialism that the true meaning of Christmas often gets lost. It is true in our culture that Christ is often given the back seat at Christmas. But it is for that very reason that I argue we as Christians need to purpose in ourselves to make much of the Christ in Christmas. We must ensure our children, friends, neighbors, and even ourselves know what Christmas is really all about. Only then can it be something great and joyful.
One of the ways that my family likes to keep Christ at the forefront of our minds and the glory of God as our motivation during the Christmas season is by observing the Advent Wreath. The Advent Wreath is just one of many ways to teach about the biblical history and meaning of Christmas. All you need are five candles (three purple, one pink, and one white) and a wreath to put around the five candles. Each candle stands for a specific aspect of Christ’s advent. So each week leading up to Christmas day you are to light one of the candles and read certain scriptures that expound on that aspect. Then on Christmas day, before you open presents, you light the last candle along with the others that you have previously observed, which culminates with the gospel, the whole purpose of the incarnation.
This has been such a memorable and meaningful practice for keeping the gospel at the forefront of my Christmas celebrations. Because of this tradition, I never wonder what the meaning of Christmas is and rarely feel a sense of disappointment or discouragement during the season. In fact, Christmas often acts like a reset to my motivation for living out the Christian life. I don’t know what kind of holiday traditions you and your family have. But I highly suggest doing something like this. So if you’re interested in how to do the Advent Wreath, here are the things you will need to know. It can vary in practice, but the main elements are as follows:
The first candle is The Candle of Hope- Prophets’ Candle. This is one of the purple candles and it represents the prophetic hope of the coming Messiah. Some scriptures to read with the lighting of this candle are Isaiah 7:10-14, Isaiah 9:5-7, 2 Samuel 7:12-14, and Isaiah 11:1-5. The prophets of the Old Testament lived in desperate times, but through them God gave His people a ray of hope. They looked forward to the One who would come into His creation, rescue His people, bring peace between God and man, and be our perfect Lord and King. The Messiah would do all of this, and His reign would be an everlasting one. Jesus is this Messiah, and we can find our hope in Him!
The next candle is The Candle of Preparation- Bethlehem Candle. This is also a purple candle and it represents the way in which God prepared the world for Christ’s incarnation. Some scripture to go along with this one are Micah 5:2-4, Isaiah 40:3-5, and Luke 3:2-6. God did not just poof Jesus into existence with no plan or preparation. He spent thousands of years since the beginning of time putting into place every detail necessary to bring about the exact setting that He wanted for the King of Kings. We can see God's meticulous planning through history and in the scriptures. It baffles the mind to consider how Jesus perfectly fulfills all of the OT prophecies. Because of this we can have overwhelming confidence in who Jesus is as our Lord and Savior. We can expectantly entrust our lives to the One whose plans never fail.
The Candle of Joy- Shepherds Candle is third and it is the last purple candle in the wreath. It represents the joy that Christ brings into the world, and accompanying scriptures are Luke 2:8-14, 15-20, and Matthew 2:1-6, 7-12. Without Jesus there really is no reason to have joy in this world. There may be momentary sparks of happiness, but the finite nature of such things with no guarantee for the future means there is only an expectancy that the good times will end and life has no ultimate meaning. Without a solution for the brokenness of the world, there can be no true joy. But that is why Christmas is a time of joy. We celebrate that the Solution came into the broken world and took it on Himself to fix it. Because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection we can be full of joy through the hardest of times. As Christians, no matter the circumstances in which we find ourselves, we know we have a truly wonderful life.
The fourth candle is the pink candle. It is The Candle of Love- Mary’s Candle. Some scripture to read with this candle are Luke 1:26-38, 46-56, Luke 2:19, 51, and 1 John 4:9-10,19. This represents the love of God for the world and the love and devotion of Mary for the Lord. We love because God first loved us. We know that God loves us, because He sent His Son into the world to save the world by dying for His enemies and providing for us salvation and life. We can rest in His unconditional love through Christ's work, and we can reciprocate love back to God through the gift of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus gives to all who believe in Him. There is no greater love than that between Jesus and all who call on the name of the Lord to be saved.
Finally, and most importantly, is The Candle of Salvation- Christ’s Candle. This candle represents the fact that Jesus is the Messiah who came to take away the sins of the world and bring salvation to all who believe! This is what Christmas is all about. It is the reason for the incarnation. It is the cause of the hope, readiness, joy, and love we have in God. Some scripture to go along with this are Luke 2:25-27,28-32,33-35, 36-38, John 1:29.
There are many more texts of scripture that you could include in these devotions, but these will suffice as a good start. And there are some great online resources on the Advent Wreath. So go do some research and make it your own. But no matter how you do it, be sure it is steeped in the Word of God.
I hope and pray this is helpful and encouraging to you and your family.
Merry Christmas!
