O Come, O Come Emmanuel

As a child during the season of Advent, we always had an Advent wreath with the pink and purple candles with the white candle in the middle which was lit on Christmas Eve. Each Sunday night, we'd read a passage from the Nativity Story and follow the prayer in the family Advent workbook. We also had an Advent calendar with a big green Christmas tree that was made of felt with little pockets complete with numbers on each pocket counting down the days to Christmas. Inside each pocket was a felt ornament with lots of sequins and a piece of candy. My sister and I never cared much about which candy we got. The bigger deal was doing the math to figure out who would get to put the last ornament on the tree...THE STAR!!!

As an adult, I find that I have much more of a sense of wonder during this time of the church year. The absolute miracle of the birth of a child. God sending God's son to live His life for the benefit of the world. That this Jesus displays a love the likes of which this world had never seen or will see again. This is what we celebrate with our decorations, our gifts, our worship. We celebrated the first Sunday in Advent yesterday. The trees are up, the greenery is hung and the first candle of the Advent wreath was lit and celebrated. The journey begins as we work to understand this love Christ has for us. Embrace this love, let it envelop you then let those around experience it through you.