Beyond the Christmas lights

By Rev’d Fiifi AFENYI-DONKOR

As the year draws to a close, Ghanaian streets glow with festive lights. Churches and homes prepare to celebrate Christmas, the joyous arrival of Christ. Advent, the season of anticipation, reflection, and hope, invites us not only to rejoice in Christ’s coming but to examine how our hearts, homes, and society are prepared for Him.

Just as banks, offices, malls, and chapels from Accra to Tamale are adorned with lights and trees, Advent calls us to a deeper decoration, aligning our lives with justice, mercy, and compassion. Much like Lent prepares believers for Easter, Advent prepares the Church for Christ’s birth and His promised return. In a world of moral challenges and social tensions, Advent becomes a season not just of joy, but of responsible, transformative living.

The Meaning of Advent

The word Advent comes from the Latin ad-venire, meaning “to come to.” It refers to God coming into the world in the person of Jesus Christ. Advent is therefore a season of watching, waiting, and preparing, for the One who came in humility at Bethlehem and will come again in glory.

Liturgically, Advent begins the Church’s calendar year, marking a fresh spiritual beginning. It spans the four Sundays before Christmas. It begins either on the last Sunday of November, or the first Sunday of December, depending upon when Christmas falls. Theologically, Advent is rooted in the Latin adventus, which translates the Greek Parousia, a New Testament term for both Christ’s first coming and His second. This gives Advent a double significance:

• Christ has come — the incarnation, God entering history as a child.
• Christ will come again — the hope of final restoration and justice.

Advent spans past, present, and future, reminding Christians of what God has done, what He is doing, and what He promises yet to do.

Advent in Christian History

Advent has been observed since at least the 4th century. Originally, it was a penitential season, similar to Lent, used for:

• Confession and repentance
• Almsgiving and charity
• Renewed commitment to Christian living

Early Christian practices, such as the Advent wreath, candles, purple vestments, and the “O Antiphons” (which inspired the hymn O Come, O Come, Immanuel, MHB 257), helped believers cultivate expectation, reflection, and hope. Over time, Advent has evolved into a season balancing joyful anticipation with sober reflection, reminding us that welcoming Christ requires preparation of heart, mind, and character.

Biblical Foundations of Advent

Advent is deeply rooted in Scripture. Prophets like Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah foretold a Messiah who would bring peace, justice, and salvation. Isaiah declares, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2), pointing to Christ’s arrival.

In the New Testament:

• John the Baptist calls people to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Luke 3:4).
• Jesus teaches watchfulness and readiness (Mark 13:33–37).
• The early Church lived in active expectation of His return (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18).

Advent is therefore more than a countdown to December 25; it is a season shaped by readiness, hope, moral responsibility, and faithfulness.

The Kingdom of God and Advent

A central dimension of Advent is the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, inaugurated at Christ’s first coming and to be fully revealed at His return.

For Ghanaian society, this perspective is striking. Unlike our historic earthly kingdoms, Asante, Dagbon, Gonja, Okyeman, Anlo, which are territorial, hereditary, and temporal, Christ’s Kingdom is:

• Universal — transcending tribe, ethnicity, and region
• Non-territorial — established in transformed hearts and lives
• Non-hereditary — entered by spiritual new birth, not physical lineage (John 3:3–5)
• Righteous — founded on justice, mercy, and holiness
• Eternal — without decline or corruption (Daniel 7:14)

While earthly kingdoms uphold cultural identity and social order, Advent reminds us that our ultimate allegiance is to Christ, whose Kingdom unites by grace, transcends divisions, and stands forever.

Advent: A Call to Kingdom Allegiance and Ethical Living

Celebrating Advent invites believers to reaffirm loyalty to Christ’s eternal reign. Honouring Ghana’s rich chieftaincy traditions is important, yet Advent calls for a higher allegiance, one that shapes our personal, communal, and civic conduct. It challenges us to act with justice, integrity, and compassion in every sphere: homes, workplaces, communities, and public life.

The Significance of Advent: Past, Present, and Future

The Past: Remembering God’s Faithfulness

Advent invites us to reflect on the miracle of the Incarnation. God entered history in startling humility, choosing a manger over a palace, showing that divine power often arrives quietly among the poor and marginalised.

The Present: Living with Purpose and Integrity

Advent calls us to examine our lives today. It summons us to repentance, compassion, and ethical living, aligning our daily behaviour with Christ’s values of justice, humility, and mercy.

The Future: Hoping for God’s Kingdom

Advent points forward to the ultimate restoration, when righteousness reigns, suffering ends, and God’s justice is fully revealed. This hope sustains believers amidst national and personal challenges.

Advent and Ghana: A Call to Ethical and Civic Renewal

In Ghana, Advent speaks prophetically to our social and moral landscape. Amid corruption, inequality, and public indiscipline, Advent becomes a clarion call to our national conscience:

• A Call to Justice — Advocate for fairness and equity in institutions and public policies
• A Call to Integrity — Reject bribery, dishonesty, and exploitation, whether at the police checkpoint, in the office, or during public service delivery
• A Call to Peace and Civic Responsibility — Promote dialogue over discord, act as agents of reconciliation in political or social tensions
• A Call to Compassion — Support vulnerable groups, such as kayayei, street children, or the isolated elderly, through practical mercy, charity, and advocacy

Practical Ways to “Live Advent” in Ghana Today

• Families: Hold daily devotions, light Advent candles, or practice an “Acts of Kindness” calendar
• Workplaces: Commit to ethical decision-making, honouring contracts, providing fair wages, and rejecting corrupt shortcuts
• Communities: Foster reconciliation, forgiveness, and peaceful dialogue
• Individuals: Support the vulnerable through donations, mentorship, or volunteering. Let honesty, respect, and integrity mark daily interactions

Through these faithful acts, we transform our homes, workplaces, and communities from the inside out.

Conclusion

This Advent season, as choirs sing “O Come, O Come Immanuel” and homes across Ghana shine with Christmas lights, let us remember that true preparation is both joyful and transformative. Advent calls us to ready our hearts, our society, and our national conscience for Christ’s coming, not only in celebration but in concrete action.

If we embrace the full spirit of Advent, we will celebrate Christ’s birth by living His mission: promoting justice, acting with integrity, showing compassion, and building peace in our families, workplaces, communities, and nation. This Christmas, may Ghana not only observe Advent but live Advent, preparing the way of the Lord through righteousness, love, and unwavering hope.

Rev’d Fiifi Afenyi-Donkor is an rdained Minister of The Methodist Church Ghana, writing on theology, ethics, and civic responsibility

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