Many years ago a pastor was invited to preach at a nearby country church he had never been to before. As he set out he was uncertain which road to take since most rural roads are not clearly marked and the directions he had been given left something to be desired. He stopped to ask directions along the way. The person he asked tried, but mistakenly steered him down the wrong road.

The morning was pleasant and although the road seemed a little longer than the pastor had expected, he cheerfully continued on his way. Finally he arrived at a little white church just as the Sunday School lesson was concluding. The pastor entered the church and greeted some of the people as he made his way to the pulpit. That morning he delivered a strong and inspiring sermon. People in the congregation weren't quite sure what to think, but they listened attentively. When the worship service concluded, the pastor descended from the pulpit, shook hands with the good people and headed toward home.

Meanwhile, there was another small church a few miles away. It was filled with people waiting and wondering what could possibly have happened to the pastor who was scheduled to preach for them. Our hero never suspected that he had preached at the wrong church that morning.

There are times in our lives when we have to admit that things seem out of place. Somehow things just don't seem to fit. Advent is one of those times. Everywhere we go we see signs of the Christmas season - festive decorations, brightly colored lights, carols playing loudly at the mall, Christmas specials on television reminding us of the jolly nature of the holiday. Yet, when we arrive at church on this, the Second Sunday of Advent, we are greeted by an unlikely figure, John the Baptist. Something just doesn't seem right. It seems that we are in the wrong place. Or at the very least John the Baptist has picked the wrong Sunday to be our guest speaker.