The Sprouting Fig Tree

The season of Advent prepares us for the coming of the birth of Christ. While our celebration is usually associated with expectation, hope, and joy, the events themselves have an underlying tone of tragedy and sorrow. Tragedy and sorrow are most explicit in the account of the slaughter of the innocent children at Herod's orders in his attempt to eliminate a potential rival to his throne.

A less evident underlying theme of sorrow is the injustice existing in the world when babies have to be born in the absence of adequate shelter and care. It is not only Jesus who was born in such circumstances, but multitudes of others even now in our world. If the precious gift of life with all its potential is to be realized, such children need to survive despite such difficultie…