Joy to the World, the Lord has come!

It’s Advent season! The month before celebrating Christmas – the birth of Christ.

It’s a month full of preparation. We start our family and local customs – decorating, putting up the tree, buying presents, planning meals.

Back home, the tree is a centerpiece: each of us has our own ornaments gifted and collected over the years. Christmas dinner is always an extravaganza.

It’s a season of stress, of financial worries, of awkward family encounters, of overblown events. Can you afford all those gifts? Is your weird uncle going to be at dinner?

It’s a season of reindeer, and Santa Claus, and Christmas trees, and…

Did you see it? Did you see what just happened? We just about lost the plot. We almost lost track of why this season is special, why it is important.

Advent is a season of expectation. And there is nothing wrong with expectantly looking forward to gift-giving, and family gatherings, and sumptuous meals. They are good things, no doubt.

But they pale when compared with Christ’s coming. The author of life steps on the stage. The king of kings comes to claim his kingdom. The all powerful creator God of all the universe comes to be with. A moment of incomparable anticipation.

Let earth receive her king!