What Occupy Wall Street Took From Advent

Advent is a season in the Christian year, a time when people prepare for a deeper celebration of Christmas. Occupy Wall Street is a protest movement, an occasion for people to camp out in public parks in order to draw attention to economic injustice. People celebrate Advent by lighting candles, singing special hymns, and praying. People in OWS hold up placards, give unamplified speeches, and, increasingly, get arrested.

So what, you might wonder, do Advent and Occupy Wall Street have in common? They share a conviction that something is profoundly wrong with our world. They both express a longing for things to get better. They are hoping for something to upend the status quo and establish pervasive justice.

A yearning for change, a hunger for justice, a hope for a new world ... these lie at the heart of Advent. For Christians, the weeks before Christmas aren't simply a time to get ready for Christmas by energetic shopping and even more energetic partying. Rather, these weeks constitute a season in the Christian year that focuses on the advent of Christ (from the Latin adventus, which means "coming" or "visit"). More completely, Advent brings to mind the two advents of Christ, his first coming as a baby laid in a manger and his second coming to bring the kingdom of God with its comprehensive peace and justice.