Today is the start of the season of Advent. A season of anticipation. A season of hope and waiting. It is a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. It has been said: “The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.”1

Jesus shares with his disciples concerning his second coming. An extraordinary thing… matched only by the extraordinary moment before it happens. A strange text for the season of Advent; or is it? I think not. The birth of Christ encompasses much more than the Christmas story. Understanding this moves us into a realm which is far more than sentimentality.

The Christmas happening affected the whole universe for all eternity. The eternal God was incarnated in a ma…