It is officially “count-down” time. The moment the red cranberry sauce is wiped off our chins and cleaned off the tablecloth, Black Friday starts. And on Black Friday comes the count-down of the diminishing days until Christmas. That tick-tock of passing time is supposed to induce us into a buying panic and jump-start our frenzied consumerism. It pretty much works.

But the church has its own “countdown to Christmas.” It is called “The Season of Advent.” Instead of being a time of consumer manic panic, Advent is a time of preparation for the gift of a miraculous presence. This “preparation” is not about decking the halls or trimming the tree. This “preparation” is not about baking cookies or wrapping packages. This “preparation” is about a truth which comes into the world, not abstract pur…