Amid Christmas hype, don't forget about Advent
The Christian season of reflection, which starts Sunday and often is overshadowed by commercialism, focuses on the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of a Messiah.
By K. Connie Kang, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 1, 2007

Christmas certainly is a day of joy, but as the Rev. Mark D. Roberts sees it, special pleasures can be found in Advent, the Christian season of reflection leading up to Dec. 25.

"There is an underlying sense of joy in the expectation," said Roberts, who until recently was the longtime pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. By his own description, Roberts is an "Adventophile -- a lover of Advent" and has written extensively on the subject.

"Advent," he said, "is getting in touch with our own sense of yearning for God." the rest image