Ascension News Church of the Ascension –

The Anglican Church in Hilton, KZN Diocese of Natal in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

Advent Edition 2016

1 What is Advent? 2 Paul’s Ponderings – Watching and Waiting 3 John’s Jottings – Feeling a Little Blue this Advent 4 Christmas Poetry 5 Christmas Services & Parish News

What Is Advent?

For many Christians unfamiliar with the liturgical year, there may be some confusion surrounding the meaning of the Advent season. Some people may know that the Advent season focuses on expectation and think that it serves as an anticipation of Christ’s birth in the season leading up to Christmas. This is part of the story, but there’s more to Advent.

The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” which is a translation of the Greek word parousia. Scholars believe that during the 4th and 5th centuries in Spain and Gaul, Advent was a season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians at the January feast of Epiphany, the celebration of God’s incarnation represented by the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1), his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist (John 1:29), and his first miracle at Cana (John 2:1). During this season of preparation, Christians would spend 40 days in penance, prayer, and fasting to prepare for this celebration; originally, there was little connection between Advent and Christmas.

By the 6th century, however, Roman Christians had tied Advent to the coming of Christ. But the “coming” they had in mind was not Christ’s first coming in the manger in Bethlehem, but his second coming in the clouds as the judge of the world. It was not until the Middle Ages that the Advent season was explicitly linked to Christ’s first coming at Christmas.

Today, the Advent season lasts for four Sundays leading up to Christmas. At that time, the new Christian year begins with the twelve-day celebration of Christmastide, which lasts from Christmas Eve until Epiphany on January 6. (Advent begins on the Sunday that falls between November 27th and December 3rd each year.)

Advent symbolizes the present situation of the church in these “last days” (Acts 2:17, Hebrews 1:2), as God’s people wait for the return of Christ in glory to consummate his eternal kingdom. The church is in a similar situation to Israel at the end of the Old Testament: in exile, waiting and hoping in prayerful expectation for the coming of the Messiah. Israel looked back to God’s past gracious actions on their behalf in leading them out of Egypt in the Exodus, and on this basis they called for God once again to act for them. In the same way, the church, during Advent, looks back upon Christ’s coming in celebration while at the same time looking forward in eager anticipation to the coming of Christ’s kingdom when he returns for his people. In this light, the Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” perfectly represents the church’s cry during the Advent season:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appears.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

While Israel would have sung the song in expectation of Christ’s first coming, the church now sings the song in commemoration of that first coming and in expectation of the second coming in the future.

PAUL’S PONDERINGS – Watching and Waiting

We have come to that time of the year that leads us to Christmas. It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since the last Advent season! In our tradition we observe a period that includes the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day during which we anticipate God’s intervention in our world. Boy, do we need this intervention! 2016 has seen all sorts of upheaval in the global village. There has been an intensification of the migrant crisis, massive instability in Syria and Iraq, Brexit, a bizarre US election, a fees crisis in our universities, squabbling over the state capture report, calls for our president to resign, and much more. Where is God? Given the types of things that I have mentioned, it is easy to feel as though either God doesn’t exist, or if he does, he is not all that involved in his creation. In other words, God (if one believes in Him) is transcendent; hovering somewhere up in the universe (or is that multiverse?), looking down on us from afar. What I like most about the Biblical accounts of Christmas, and how they relate to the season of Advent, is that they turn this way of seeing God upside-down. At this time we celebrate a God who presents a plan to the most insignificant people (in terms of the culture of the time). Mary is a poor, young peasant girl. Elizabeth is a poor older cousin.

Nazareth is an insignificant village, as revealed by Nathaniel in John’s Gospel “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (Jn 1:46). Other characters we celebrate at this time are shepherds, scum in that culture and forced to sleep outside the city walls. We reflect on the Magi, who came from a foreign land and quite obviously held different beliefs from the people of Israel. They are outsiders: unbelieving, unclean Gentiles. We also look at the Roman powers, forcing people to participate in the census, and their vassals like Herod: cruel and paranoid. In the Christmas story, worldly power and authority is pitted against the ordinary, the unclean and the outsider. Ultimately, Christmas is about a God who shows the world how real authority and power ought to be used. God humbles Himself and enters the creation as a human baby, born in a cave/stable to a poor family on the move because they have been forced to do so. There is no shame in being poor, ordinary or an outsider. God’s angels greet them first in the narrative! When I become overwhelmed by the actions of people in worldly power, Christmas time is a reminder that God is more than interested in His creation. God is involved, God is present! God is here! Love and blessings, Paul

JOHN’S JOTTINGS - Feeling a Little Blue this Advent?

One of the traditions in our denomination is the use of liturgical colours to distinguish the different seasons and events in our Church Year. Thus we use white for celebration, red for feasts and events associated with the Holy Spirit or for martyrdom, green for the long period between Pentecost and Advent, and purple for the periods of preparation and reflection: Lent and Advent. It is true that there are many similarities between Lent and Advent. Lent is the earlier observation and was, from the earliest times in the Church, observed as a period of preparation by candidates (called catechumens) for baptism into the Church on Resurrection Sunday. However, Christmas (or the nativity of our Lord) was not celebrated by the Church until late in the 4th century and, because there is no historical record of when our Lord was born to Mary, the Church in the west decided to appropriate (as it were) the Roman Feast of Saturnalia, a mid-winter festival celebrating life at the most dead time of the year and characterised by light and evergreen foliage as symbols of life. And Jesus is, of course, the Lord of life! The evolution of a preparatory period came

even later and it was not until the latter part of the 6 th century, or the earlier part of the 7th that a formalised period (lasting initially for 5 Sundays before Christmas, later reduced to 4 by Pope Gregory in the 11th century) was pretty generally, if not universally observed.

Because of the similarities between Lent and Advent, it became the custom in the Western Church to prescribe the same liturgical colour for both periods. And that colour has – traditionally – been purple. But there are also significant differences between the periods. Lent has always been more reflective and introspective; a period when we are asked to take a long, hard look at our lives in response to our awareness of what Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross accomplished in terms of salvation. But Advent has a totally different “feel” to it. It tends to be more expectant, more outward looking, more anticipatory than Lent. And for good reason. The primary focus of Advent is for the faithful to prepare themselves worthily to observe the anniversary of the birth of Jesus as the incarnate God of love; to make themselves – souls and bodies – worthy abodes of the Holy Spirit who comes to us by grace in the Eucharist; and finally to make ourselves ready for Jesus’ final coming as judge at the end of the age, when all creation will be renewed. As the chorus in the praise song, “Days of Elijah”, puts it:

Behold, he comes, riding on the clouds, shining like the sun, at the trumpet call!

The world has taken this sense of expectancy and transformed (some would say “corrupted”) it into a purely secular celebration of all things material: food, drink, lavish parties, expensive gifts; all the excesses that the world finds so irresistible! So, we need to take Advent seriously. But it IS very different from Lent. And, for a long time now, liturgical churches, like our own, have recognised this by prescribing a different colour purple for the two seasons. The Roman Catholic website aquinas&moore.com describes it as “Usually a deep purple as opposed to the lighter, red-violet shade of purple associated with Lent.” Deep purple has always been a “royal” colour, usually because of the cost of the dye needed to make purple material. Only the very wealthy and royalty could afford it. And Jesus, of course, is our King! However, for some years now, our Anglican Church has recognised another “royal” colour as suitable for Advent – Royal Blue. And that is the colour we’ll be using – for the first time in this parish – this Advent. Council has given its approval to the proposal and we have a set of royal blue vestments for altar and clergy to use for the four Sundays before Christmas. Symbols are there to remind us of things – important things. So we trust that the use of this liturgical colour during Advent will remind us

that we worship an eternal King, whose Kingdom is characterised by love, grace and justice for all. And added to that is the reminder that we are all called upon to bring about that Kingdom here on earth, as in heaven. And we don’t need to feel BLUE about that! Ann and I wish you a blessed Advent and Christmas filled with the joy and peace and grace of the Christ-child.

After last year’s Carol Service there were a number of requests for the poems used to be published in the magazine. Apologies to the poets: I have had to alter the punctuation to fit them all into this publication. I have included others we have used over the last few years. Conception - Pat Marsh Once upon a time a young girl gave herself to a labour of love, a labour characterised by struggle, the eternal struggle between darkness and light, the struggle that light and truth wholeness and beauty were destined, eventually to win the battle between exquisite peace and sword piercing pain that began to reveal its destiny through the young girl’s labour.

Quietly, secretly, imperceptibly Light was coming on its way across time and space, to make itself known; and made its first appearance with a sign: the shimmering ethereal radiance of an angel bright, clear, unmistakable, softly entering into an ordinary day. An angel who said, ‘Will you lend your love that God might birth a greater Love through you? and Mary said, ‘Yes …. tell God … I say yes.’

Cradled - Caryll Houselander The circle of a girl’s arms have changed the world the round and sorrowful world to a cradle for God. She has laid love in His cradle. In every cot, Mary has laid her child. In each comes Christ. In each Christ comes to birth, comes Christ from the Mother’s breast, as the bird from the sun returning, returning again to the tree he knows and the nest, to last year’s rifled nest. Into our hands Mary has given her child, heir to the world’s tears, heir to the world’s toil, heir to the world’s scars, heir to the chill dawn over the ruin of wars. She has laid love in his cradle, Answering for us all. ‘Be it done unto me.’

Nativity - Heather Johnston The Invisible became Visible In the darkness of the stable. And Immortality was made Mortal With the company of cattle. The Intangible became Tangible Tucked in a baby blanket. And the Infinite downsized to the Finite In the close confines of a manger.

Starlight - Heather Johnston Long ago Gabriel clearly spoke it all to her, And now the star shone bright on Bethlehem And Mary in her heart; (and carrying safely for the world its Saviour,) Knew fear for all the unknown He was bringing her in her tomorrows. Lord - there is unknown also in my tomorrows, But this is known in me That when they are and where, There you already are in all your love And perfect will. And this I carry safely in my heart.

Mary’s Song - Luci Shaw Blue homespun and the bend of my breast keep warm this small hot naked star fallen to my arms. (Rest...you who have had so far to come.) Now nearness satisfies the body of God sweetly. Quiet he lies whose vigour hurled a universe. He sleeps whose eyelids have not closed before. His breath (so slight it seems no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps to sprout a world. Charmed by dove’s voices, the whisper of straw, he dreams, hearing music from his other spheres. Breath, mouth, ears, eyes he is curtailed who overflowed all skies, all years. Older than eternity, now he is new. Now native to earth as I am, nailed to my poor planet, caught that I might be free, blind in my womb to know my darkness ended, brought to this birth for me to be new-born, and for him to see me mended I must see him torn.

Myth embroidery - Gill Watson -2012 Who were these wise men of Matthew? Who were these men blown up by myth to be kings with grand names? Were there three or four or only two travelling pilgrims? Do we really know that Melchior carried bitter myrrh, Balthazzar hid shining gold, Caspar treasured fragrant frankincense? Why do we insist on embroidery of a profoundly simple message of careful listening, watching and obedience, perseverance and worship? A gospel message of grace and love and passionate worship of a young child. A giving of gifts that prophecy a life of Priest, King, and Sacrifice, that I may be redeemed and saved, forgiven and sanctified. As these wise men departed for their own country, May I depart from sin and error And set my face toward Your everlasting Kingdom; Towards this Christ-child; Towards eternal life.

We will be starting our Christmas celebrations with the traditional nine

lessons and carols on Friday 23rd

December at 6.00pm. Gill Watson is

organising a choir, if you would like to be involved please contact Gill on 072

376 3552 or jogiwat@gmail. Practice starts on Thursday 01 December

@5.30pm.

Also suitable for families will be the Crib service with Communion on Christmas Eve Saturday 24 th December at 5pm A complete list of services lies below:

Saturday 24 December at 17h00 - Crib Service with Children's Eucharist. Saturday 24 December at 23h00 - Midnight Service Sunday 25 December at 07h00 & 09h00 - Christmas Eucharist Service

PARISH NEWS

ADMISSION TO COMMUNION:

20 November 2016 Robert Cullis & Bryony Bournes-Harper

BAPTIZMS:

20 November 2016 Gabriella Dryer & Danica Jesse Lamech

DEATHS:

28 October 2016 Dorrie Nuttall

GREAT GRANDCHILD:

Logan Anthony Strydom, great grandson for Betty Allen

OFFICE HOURS: Monday – Friday 9h00 – 13h00 Telephone: 033 343 3012 or 343 1235 Fax: 033 343 1235 or 086 542 0145