Our theme for this third Sunday in Advent is music. “When the Messiah comes there will be singing.” I think most of us love the music of Christmas. Of course, I realize that not all of us are musicians.

A man and his wife were browsing in a crafts store one day when the man noticed a display of country-style musical instruments. After looking over the flutes, dulcimers and recorders, he picked up a shiny, one-stringed instrument he took to be a mouth harp. He put it to his lips and, much to the amusement of other shoppers, twanged a few notes on it. After watching from a distance, his wife came up and whispered in his ear, “I hate to tell you this, honey, but you’re trying to play a cheese slicer.” (1)

Not all of us are musicians.

One woman was talking about her parents who had recently…