"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you."
– Isaiah 60:1

The human race has different ways of reckoning the year.

The Chinese calendar has its own system for determining when a year starts and when it ends. There’s also a Jewish calendar, a Muslim calendar, and, of course, the Gregorian calendar, which is the one most commonly used around the world.

This week a great majority of the church begins a new liturgical year. Our “New Year’s Day” is the First Sunday of Advent (the “Coming”).

The liturgical calendar revolves entirely around Jesus Christ the Messiah. Every year, the church celebrates his whole story. Advent and Christmas focus on his birth. The Christmas season ends with Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, the beginning of his public ministry. Lent leads up to the Holy Triduum, and the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Pentecost celebrates Jesus’ pouring out of the Spirit upon us. The rest of the year proclaims all that Jesus said and did.  

Not only does the church’s calendar begin and end with Jesus, something else is interesting about the beginning of the liturgical year in Advent: the Gospel reading is always about the end of the world. At first that might seem strange - to begin with the ending. But isn’t that the way we map out our trips?

If I am trying to figure out how to get somewhere, I start with my destination. 

And my destination is...?

Spend some time with the Lord pondering your answer in this Season of Lights. Both Advent and Hanukkah began together December 2nd. How fitting that we should see these two celebrations not only overlap again this year but begin together on the same night. Perhaps our Jewish Messiah is trying to remind us once more that there is a Way for us to follow into eternal life - a Way that has been birthed for us from the Beginning unto the End - an Alpha & Omega - a Messiah who is and always was and is to come. To see how you might even incorporate celebrating both Advent and Hanukkah together into your own traditions, read our blog post below “Should Christians Observe Hanukkah?”

In this Season of Lights, let us keep remembrance the True Miracle of Light is the spark of Hope knit within us ALL!