Advent, NOT Christmas

Here it is the second Wednesday in the Season of Advent. I am preparing for Evening Prayer and expect a small group to be present. I know I am supposed to focus on anticipation of Christ, the coming of the Lord. In other words, NO Christmas carols. Yet, it is the joy of Christmas I am looking forward to as well. What a great time to pull out all the Christian celebration and the secular world will even join in a little of it. So I wait -- but I want to get there -- part of that "proleptic eschatology" that my buddy Ryan Mills reminded me of. (Yes, he is a pastor, too.) Basically, it is the "already, but not yet" nature of the faith we have. All the promise is ours, but we we have not yet seen it all. That does not make it less true, just less realized. Ah, well, perhaps, I could at least put up this much Christmas decoration (my house would be on the right hand side -- that's where you want to be when it comes to God!).



(The red lights say "Ditto" in case it is not showing well.)