As the year draws to a close and the days grow shorter, a quiet and profound season begins. But ask yourself this: What if Advent isn’t just the lead-up to Christmas? What if it’s something far more radical, more universal, more deeply resonant than we’ve been told?
I’ve been wrestling with this question myself. Advent offers us a dedicated time for reflection, preparation, and hopeful anticipation — a season that calls to each of us, regardless of background or belief, demanding we pause and connect with timeless values that shake us awake. The question is: Are we brave enough to listen?
Here’s what challenges me: traditionally, Advent is marked by purple — the color of royalty and repentance. But a growing number of communities are embracing blue instead. In fact at Gentle Spirit Christian Church we have used the blue color from the beginning.
Why does this matter? Because blue is revolutionary. It’s the color of the vast morning sky just before dawn breaks, pregnant with possibility.
It represents the endless expanse of the universe and the infinite nature of whatever you call divine. Blue is hope incarnate — not the passive, wishful thinking we’ve been sold, but a calm, steady, and expansive hope that whispers a truth: Light is coming, even in our deepest darkness.
But who are we in this story? We are the ones sitting on the hillside, listening. We are the “who” being spoken to.
This season unfolds over four weeks, each with its own guiding theme. These aren’t mere concepts to ponder — they’re invitations to radical transformation. Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love challenge everything we think we know about living.
The first week confronts us with Hope. Not the sanitized hope of greeting cards, but active, defiant hope. This is the belief that dares to imagine a better world and demands we roll up our sleeves to build it. Hope forces us to find light in the most unexpected places and become that light for others. It’s the audacious confidence that our collective efforts toward kindness and justice ripple out in ways we’ll never fully comprehend.
The second week brings Peace — and here’s where it gets uncomfortable. In a world screaming with noise, conflict, and division, who told us that peace was optional? This week demands that we seek peace within ourselves first, silencing the anxieties that consume us. From this inner stillness — this radical act of resistance — we become equipped to foster peace in our relationships, our communities, our broken world. Are we willing to build bridges where others have built walls?
Then comes Joy — but not the shallow happiness our culture peddles. This is deep, resilient joy born from authentic connection and gratitude. It’s found in shared moments with loved ones, in the raw beauty of creation, in acts of generosity that cost us something. Advent reminds us that joy is communal — it multiplies when shared. It’s the laughter that breaks through despair, the comfort of a helping hand, the warmth of true belonging. But here’s the challenge: will we create joy or merely consume it?
The final week centers on Love — the culmination that makes everything else possible. This isn’t sentiment; it’s revolution. This is radical, unconditional love that extends to our neighbors, to strangers, to ourselves. It challenges us to act with compassion when it’s inconvenient, to listen when we’d rather speak, to see inherent worth in every person when society tells us otherwise. Love becomes action, a daily choice to contribute to a world where everyone feels valued.
Advent, with its serene blue and profound themes, stands as a counter-narrative to the commercial machine that devours our holidays. It carves out sacred space — demanding we slow down, look inward, and reconnect with values that unite us across every divide. This is preparation not just for a holiday, but for a more hopeful, peaceful, joyful, and loving way of being human.
As we journey through these four weeks, we face this truth: The anticipation of light is itself a powerful and transformative act of resistance. The question remains: will we answer the call?