I would like to invite you to do the most difficult thing that can be asked of our culture, and that is to do nothing. I invite you to approach this night with open hands and hearts and do nothing. This night is not about effort, but about receiving. This night's gift is yours for the asking and without effort.

While in the Atlanta airport a friend of mine went into a restaurant where he was served something he had never seen before. He inquired, "What is this white glob here on the plate?" The waitress said, "Those are grits." "But I didn't order grits," he said, while looking at the check. She finally said, "You don't order grits. They just come!" And you don't order Advent. You don't order grace. You don't order God. God comes on God's time and in God's way, not ours.

I was on my way to v…