Mapping out the Sundays

The reverend extraordinaire Nicholas Lubelfeld is our resident sage on all things theology, especially when it comes to the Anglican tradition. As is his common way, Nicholas helps us lean into the season with tender hearts and endearing humility.

Transcript

Originally though, they seem to be these two foci. One was preparing for the second coming. That seemed to be Irish influence in what were the Gallican, what we call France today, churches. And then there was this other emphasis of preparing for the nativity of Christ. And those two have dwelt more or less with one another in the prayers of the church, in the hymns of them, and the new lectionary neatly dovetails the two. As I say, you find an emphasis leading up to the second coming of Christ up through the first Sunday of Advent, which is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Then you have two Sundays of repentance, the person and the work of John the Baptist on the second and third Sundays of Advent, respectively. And then the fourth Sunday, you have a notion of Mary and you might even actually read the story of the Annunciation when the Angel Gabriel came to her and said, "Mary, you're going to have a baby, but not just any baby. This will be the savior of the nations."