3Advent Saturday/4Advent Sunday: Almost here

I am writing this very late on Saturday/early Sunday. The fourth Sunday of Advent has already begun---in churches in my district and throughout Christendom this day, traditional carols will be sung with joy and warmth and organists will play too slow or too fast; cantatas, practiced for months, will be sung---sopranos may wobble and basses may be flat, but the Gospel will be heard; candles will be lit by acolytes one of whose tapers may go out and the other will help; microphones will work well in most places---in others they may cut out, the minister will determinedly preach over police calls which come through the old speaker system; in Camden in my disrrict the train may even come through and interrupt the service, but the folks are used to that since the tracks have been within shoutin' distance of the church back door for a very long time; little girls in uncomfortable and adorable red dresses with lace will run down the aisle for the children's sermon; a father will threaten his 16 year old son within an inch of his life when he sees he is text messaging his girlfriend about their date last night; Christmas eve services will be announced, and preachers running on adrenaline will tell their folks they will be taking off the days after Christmas until next Sunday, and if there is an emergency they can leave a message on the parsonage answering machine and the pastor will check each day. Those volunteers who come in each Friday to fold the bulletin this week also have put those little paper round things (wish there was a liturgical name for them) on those little candles for "Silent Night" Christmas eve and have counted them to make sure there will be enough and put them in a box to use Monday night. Some folks who will be going to their grown children's church for the Christmas eve service have brought their cookies today for the reception before the service. And after worship, everybody goes home to finish wrapping presents and to visit with their relatives and to argue some and to find reasons to get out of the house for at least a few minutes so that peace can be kept between related people who love each other but bug the heck out of each other too.

And it will be well, and all will be well, and God will smile and the mother, heavy with child will sigh, and the Baby who will save us is almost here...and the miracle of incarnation will come again.