The month-long preparation for Christmas in the church worship calendar is called "Advent," because it is the time of preparation to celebrate Christ's "advent"-- Christ's coming into our world. God's birth into our world in Jesus Christ is called the "Incarnation," but God is present--incarnate-- in other ways in and among us. That's the theme this Advent, God's incarnation! Today the readings make us consider the ways God is present in creation, in the world around us, and the ways God sustains us.

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