This past week, the Christian calendar entered the season of Advent, and depending upon who you ask, you might hear an entirely different explanation of what this means.

Trust me, it’s confusing even to many of us Jesus followers!

At its essence, Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for Jesus’ coming.

But zooming out, Advent celebrates the coming of Jesus from three perspectives: first physically, as the Messiah’s birth story, which famously took place in Bethlehem; second, spiritually in the coming of Christ in a believer’s heart; and third, as in the eschatological Second Coming, which is $5 theology speak for Jesus’ return from heaven.

My hunch though, is that depending upon which Christian you ask, you likely will receive only one of those answers … or maybe even none! In fact, there are a whole lot of Jesus followers for whom Advent doesn’t mean a hill of beans.

However, my plea to you, regardless of your faith persuasion, is to consider the value of the spirit of Advent in these last weeks before the end of the calendar year.

Customs vary, like with every religious rite. But some of the more familiar Advent rituals include fasting, setting time aside for introspection, lighting candles, hanging wreaths, daily devotionals, and special music and readings.

And, as you can see, many of those rites aren’t specifically religious in the least.

That, I humbly believe, is what is so beautiful about Advent!

For me as a Christian pastor, I love our weekly observances of Advent with the lighting of candles and an associated special reading each week for five weeks.

I also love the symbolism of the colors Christians associate with Advent! That would be an entire column unto itself so feel free to do some Googling! Just know that there is a reason for all those funky colored candles that churches pull out only this time of year!

But thinking in regard to a more universal appeal, Advent also could easily be celebrated by those who simply recognize the beauty in slowing down to appreciate the majesty of this season.

Even if you aren’t giddily anticipating the birth of little baby Jesus on Christmas morning, I think there is value in being a little more introspective as we close out a calendar year, and as society continually presses us into evermore activities in the month of December.

I believe Advent is a meaningful pushing back against the trappings and trivialization of Christmas, Jesus’ Second Coming … or honestly, even just the consumerism of end-of-year rituals if you’re not inclined to the Christian faith.

Happy Advent my dear friends! I hope that you find this wonderful season a solid encouragement that you do not have to buy wholesale into the craziness of this celebratory season.

Rather, we are allowed to step back, take a pause and just enjoy the knowledge that Jesus will come: 2,000 years ago, today and in the future! Amen!

Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.