On clear summer nights my wife and I often stretch out on the deck of our Maine cabin scanning the skies for satellites. While it might be dark at ground level, neither satellites nor stars appear until the sky is black. The ancient Persians put it this way: "When it is dark enough you can see the stars." At the graveside of his brother, the agnostic Robert Ingersoll, said, "In the darkest night hope sees a star and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing."

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. The chancel colors are not the red of Santa's suit, the green of freshly cut trees or the white of snowy tinsel, but the somber purple of mourning, waiting and reflection. For we may not be able to hear the child unless first we have lived through the dark hours. That's why Advent is an importa…