Fourth Sunday of Advent

Advent is the season of holy anticipation. Christ arrives in three ways: He came in humility at Bethlehem, He comes now in Word and Sacrament, and He will come again in glory. Each week we live in eager expectation, moved to sing with the shepherds and the saints: Behold your King’s arrival, rich with grace on grace! Today, THE KING WHO CAME IN HUMILITY: The Child of Bethlehem comes in lowliness yet carries heaven’s majesty. The shepherds’ astonishment and haste mirror our anticipation of grace fulfilled in flesh.