A few weeks ago, four people I work with gathered together at a cottage. As we gravitated toward the kitchen puttering about making lunch, I asked, "So what would you say about Advent?"
There was a thougtful pause--bread being buttered, cheese being cut. Then someone replied, "Hope. If you do not hope you cease to ask questions--there is no point." Another added how the movement of Christmas in this culture overrides the aspirations of Advent. And so, we began a thought process ...