Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

This is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is rather late this year and follows on the heels of Thanksgiving. What a start to a season of feasting and reflection! The next four Sundays during Advent we are talking about Christmas Carols. We are literally taking four very famous Christmas carols and mining the deep theology that is there in poetic form. Our genre of music during Christmas is not only utterly delightful but instructional as well. I can’t wait to talk about these songs I have sung from as far back as I can remember (and, for those of you who don’t know me, that is a long, long time!).When you walk into church Sunday, it will signal something different is upon us. There will be trees, garland, candles, and wreaths. The look and feel will be festive. (Well, somewhat! We are also in the midst of moving and dealing with the disorder that brings with it, so there will be no Sunday School this week.) As embodied creatures who live in space, we simply must take the space we inhabit and make it fit the mood and the occasion. How can we not deck the halls with boughs of holly, when we celebrate the coming of God into the world? Why would we miss the opportunity to delight all our senses in preparation for the birth of Jesus? Why not gild and deck the church as we journey with the rest of the church universal towards a manger in Bethlehem?This Story never gets old. But then again, when you have been rescued from death, it might seem to dominate your life and always be hovering at the corners of your imagination, just waiting for an opportunity to break forth. Well, it is time to cut a rug…Advent is here! Jesus is coming!!Blessings,Jim