Support material for

The Year of Faith

Unit 2: Advent and Christmas

Second Half of Autumn Term 2012

The Diocesan Policy on Religious Education (2012) commits the Diocese to support schools in implementing the requirements of the Curriculum Directory and other norms of the Bishops’ Conference. In recent years this Diocesan support for Schools has focussed on agreeing and developing a fuller understanding of the national Levels of Attainment and in improving the teaching of Scripture.

This unit serves two purposes. First, it models the application of these two important areas and so serves as continuing the professional development of Staff in these areas. Second, its content offers explicit support of Pope Benedict’s call for a Year of Faith during 2012-13.

This unit models:

  • A Scripture process employing the principles described in the new Religious Education Curriculum Directory (RECD),
  • Content necessary for achievement of the Diocesan understanding of the Levels of Attainment up to and including AT 1 (i), (ii) and (iii) Level 4,
  • Explicit links between the teaching of Religious Education and the new RECD as required by the Diocesan Inspection Framework.
  • Opportunities by which pupils are invited, in line with the Archbishop’s proposed programme, to consider the most fundamental aspect of Faith - belief in God.

How this unit may be used:

This unit is provided as an exemplar and set of resources to be used by schools in the first part of the Advent Term and the culmination of the Ordinary Season in the Liturgical year. Schools should determine the most appropriate way to use this material.

Schools using an existing published scheme may use this unit within the scheme of work they are currently using by selecting those activities they think are appropriate.

Schools developing their own curriculum based on the liturgical year may also choose to use the activities/blocks as they feel are appropriate.

Schools wishing to choose to use this unit, and the subsequent units which follow it, as an independent programme for the year simply teach the unit as it stands. Block 1 teaches content from the RECD at Levels 1-3; Block 2 teaches content at Levels 3-4. Teachers, under the guidance of their REC should read the unit carefully and determine where to begin on the basis of pupil knowledge and ability. Once they have entered the unit you should progress as far as you can given time and ability constraints. As this unit will not be repeated next year pupils in different year groups may draw on and cover the same material. Indeed, teachers working on the same material may find it easier to talk about its content, to plan for differentiation and to moderate work samples.

Overview /

Topic Theme: Advent and Christmas

This is the second unit written to accompany the Year of Faith. It continues to explore the most basic fundamental aspect of faith: belief in God. As this unit will be taught during the seasons of Advent and Christmas, this unit teaches the incarnation: belief that Jesus was God in human form.

Key Teachings from the Catholic Tradition from the RECD

Revelation:
Pupils’ teaching and learning is focused on how through God’s Self-Revelation we come to know that God’s life is love, both given and received. Though we can know God with certainty by natural reason, there is another order of knowledge: the order of divine Revelation. Through grace, God has revealed himself and given himself to human beings. This he does by revealing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all people. God has fully revealed this plan by sending us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ, Son of God:
Pupils are offered knowledge and understanding of God’s Self-Revelation through Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. He is truly God and truly human. In him the entire revelation of the most high God is summed up. His life, death and resurrection are the core events of human history and the heart of our faith.

Content Areas from the RECD

Pupils will learn about:
Revelation:
  • The main events, characters and places in the life of Jesus: the Nativity. (5-7)
  • The Bible (7-11)
  • The Gospel accounts of key events in the life of Jesus: the Nativity. (7-11)
  • God’s call to people in the Old Testament (7-11)
Church:
  • The role of Mary and her ‘yes’ to God’s Word (5-7)
  • How people who heard the Good News of Jesus began to share a way of life (5-7)
  • The role of Mary as Mother of Jesus (7-11)
Celebration:
  • Prayers from the Tradition (5-7)
  • Some ways the church celebrates major seasons of the liturgical year (5-7)
  • The Church’s celebrations of significant events in the life of Jesus (7-11)
  • Community prayer (7-11)

Dominant Strands from Levels of Attainment: AT 1 (i), (ii) and (iii)

This unit has been written to model the linear teaching of AT 1 (i), AT 1 (ii) and AT I (iii).
Both Blocks 1 and 2 begin by teaching pupils about Advent in a structure aligned to AT 1(ii), Celebration and Ritual. They then work through AT 1 (i) in study of the birth of Jesus according to the Gospel of Luke. The final section is written to track AT 1 (i) and (iii) in examining the celebration of Christmas in today’s society.
Block 1 provides content for Levels 1 to 3; Block 2 for Levels 3 and 4.
Teachers are reminded that completion of a ‘levelled’ activity does not automatically constitute achievement of that level and that both ongoing and summative assessment should be used to judge the levels at which pupils are working.

Content of Blocks 1 and 2

Both Block 1 and Block two teach Advent, the incarnation through The Birth of Jesus according to the Gospel of Luke and the celebration of Christmas today.

Outcomes of Blocks 1 and 2

Block 1: Pupils…
  1. Recognise, describe or give reasons for some of the symbols, actions and words associated with Advent (AT 1 (ii) Levels 1-3)
  2. Retell Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus (AT 1 (i) Level 2)
  1. Link Luke’s belief in Jesus as ‘messiah’ to the incarnation(AT 1 (i) Level 3)
  1. Recognise, describe or explain that people act in particular ways because of their faith (AT 1 (iii) Levels 1-3)
Block 2: Pupils…
  1. Prepare a Liturgy of the Word (AT 1 (ii) Level 4)
  1. Examine Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus for expression of belief in the incarnation (AT 1 (i) Level 3)
  1. Make links between two sources: the incarnation in Scripture and in the celebration of Christmas today (AT 1 (i) Level 4)
  1. Explain how religious belief shapes life (AT 1 (iii) Level 4)

Rich Assessment Opportunities

Block 1:
Pupils will be observed to determine if they can recognise, describe or give reasons for some of the symbols, actions and words associated with Advent (AT 1 (ii) Levels 1-3)
They will undertake an analysis of an art work to determine if they can retell Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus (AT 1 (i) Level 2).Pupils will complete Because/Believe statements to show they can link Luke’s belief in Jesus as ‘messiah’ to the incarnation (AT 1 (i) Level 3).They will construct and annotate 3 dimensional Christmas decorations to demonstrate if they recognise, describe or explain that people act in particular ways because of their faith (AT 1 (iii) Levels 1-3).
Block 2:
Pupils will be observed to determine their understanding of the structure and purpose of a Liturgy of the Word. (AT 1 (i) Levels 3 or 4). They will write an extended piece of writing explaining how belief in the incarnation is found in the birth story of Jesus. (AT 1 (i) Level 3). Pupils will analyse Christmas traditions and practices today to link two sources of revelation: Scripture and Human Experience and they will complete a number of activities to indicate how well they understand that religious belief shapes a persons life. (AT 1 (i) and (iii) Level 4).

Background Notes for Teachers

ADVENT’S DOUBLE MEANING
The official document on the Roman Calendar states: Advent has a twofold character: as a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ’s first coming to us is remembered; as a season when that remembrance directs the mind and heart to await Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. (39)
The Christian word “Advent” comes from adventus, the name of a pagan feast held to celebrate the manifestation of the divinity who came to dwell in the temple at a certain time each year. On these days the temple, which was usually closed, would be opened. Often a statue of the divinity would be moved from its usual location in a small sanctuary into a larger, more elaborate space. The focus of adventus was the celebration of an anniversary, of a returning.
Within Christian tradition, at first adventus was used to refer to the second coming of the Son of God but gradually it became limited to describing the anniversary of the birth of Christ and the Christian celebration replaced pagan festivals associated with the adventus, return of the sun at the winter solstice.
For most Christians, Advent is a time to prepare for Christmas, which celebrates the first coming of the Lord. The scripture and prayers used in the Advent liturgy, however, give evidence of a much broader perspective.
The liturgical colour for Advent, as for Lent, is purple, the colour associated with penance. However, the mood generated by the readings and texts for Advent is one of devout and joyful expectation, not penance. Hence more recently there has been a move away from the heavy purple of Lent to lighter violet shades for Advent.
A most effective way of decorating the worship space for Advent is to hang drapes in various shades of blue and mauve, perhaps with a different panel of colour added each week. Such “progressive” symbols which visually represent the build up to Christmas work well in Advent. The lighting of Advent candles also uses this principle.
The Advent wreath is of ancient origin and relates to celebrations of the winter solstice when European days are shortest and gloomiest. Because people longed for the return of the sun’s light and life, they suspended wagon wheels, decorated with greenery and candles, in their celebration halls. There they waited for their sun gods to return.
Around 200 years ago, the Advent wreath became customary in German homes and public buildings. It made its way into the Church and has become a popular symbol of the passing of time during Advent. The circle of the wreath, without and beginning or an end, symbolises God’s unending love for us and reminds us of eternity. The evergreen leaves represented growth and hopes of eternal life. The four candles mark the four weeks before Christmas, with one more candle lit each Sunday during Advent. Traditionally three candles are purple with the candle for the third, or “Gaudete”, Sunday being rose. Now that Advent no longer has a penitential focus, it is not necessary to set one Sunday apart from the rest for a bit of “light relief”. All Sundays are days of festivity in any case!
Sometimes a “Christmas candle” is placed in the centre of the wreath on Christmas Eve. This candle should be lit throughout the Christmas season. Its visual link with the Paschal candle helps connect the celebration of Christ’s birth with its fulfillment in the Easter mystery.
The visual environment of our churches during Advent serves to remind us that we are people who “wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
Christmas:
The birth of Jesus is only recorded in two of the four canonical Gospels – Matthew and Luke. The earliest written gospel was Mark’s, composed around 70-80CE in southern Syria. Mark does not include any record of Jesus’ birth. The silence of the earliest Jewish-Christian authors about the miraculous birth of Jesus seems strange given that they were trying to convince their readers that Jesus was divine. It was almost inevitable, in an ancient context, that stories of a miraculous birth for Jesus would have appeared. The narratives of the heroes in the Hebrew Bible make a miraculous birth almost an essential pre-requisite for anyone who wants to have a significant role in Israel’s history.
The gospel of John, likely written in northern Syria sometime in the first decade of the second century, asserts that the Word existed from the beginning of creation. This gospel claims that Jesus was the son of Joseph (John 1:45) and also does not include any birth story.
Thus, only the gospels of Matthew and Luke refer to the birth of Jesus. Matthew was likely written in northern Palestine sometime in the late 80's or early 90's, and Luke in Asia Minor sometime during the late 90's, both about a century after his birth.
Are the stories about Jesus’ birth historically accurate?
During the celebration of Christmas, familiar images are recalled in hymns and Scripture about the birth of Jesus. In the minds of most people the appearance of herald angels, shepherds abiding in the fields, the star of Bethlehem, the Virgin Mary giving birth in a stable and the adoration of the Magi, have all been melded into one Christmas story. They form an important part of the Catholic Christian tradition and a wonderful pathway for entering into the mystery of the Incarnation.
The two infancy narratives provide distinct and at times contradictory stories of Jesus' birth. While most scholars would concede that that there is very little in the infancy narratives that are historically accurate, these stories are viewed by Christians as stories of faith, rich in symbolism and metaphor. The Gospels were written by men who were among the first to have the faith and wanted to share it with others. Having known in faith who Jesus is, they could see and make others see the traces of his mystery in all his earthly life. From the swaddling clothes of his birth to the vinegar of his Passion and the shroud of his Resurrection, everything in Jesus' life was a sign of his mystery. His deeds, miracles and words all revealed that "in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." His humanity appeared as "sacrament", that is, the sign and instrument, of his divinity and of the salvation he brings: what was visible in his earthly life leads to the invisible mystery of his divine sonship and redemptive mission. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #515).
It is important for students to know these stories both from the standpoint of stories of faith but also from the standpoint of textual analysis. There is no Scriptural text without a context. It is useful for students to be able to identify the similarities and differences in the two birth stories and to explore why gospel writers choose to include and omit particular details. As students’ understanding develops they need to move beyond a literal interpretation of these accounts to more inferential and evaluative levels of understandings. Not withstanding this, it is also important that students understand how these narratives are interpreted within the Church in its life of faith.
Although we shall never be sure about the exact circumstances of Jesus' birth, we do know that about two thousand years ago, there was born in rural Palestine an extraordinary Jew who was to change profoundly the course of human history. For faithful Christians, Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of God the Father and the central figure of the Christian story.
The Incarnation:
Much of Christian theology has been focused on defining the relationships between God and Jesus. These issues are dealt with in the doctrine of the Incarnation. Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning whenever she sings "the mystery of our religion": "He was manifested in the flesh.”(Catechism of the Catholic Church #262).
The unique and singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. The Church teaches that he became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man.
Importance of the Doctrine
The doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ is central to the traditional Christian faith as held by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches and most Protestant Churches. The incarnation is commemorated and celebrated each year at Christmas.
In the early Christian era, many divisions broke out concerning the true nature of Christ. Christians believed that He was the Son of God. But how was He both Son of God and truly man? These disputes gave birth to certain heresies, the most serious of which was the Gnosticism which stated that Jesus only appeared to be a true man; the Arianism which taught that Jesus was a created being, less than God; and the Nestorianism which implied that the Son of God, and the man, Jesus, shared the same body but retained two separate personhoods.