This coming Sunday is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent.  Advent serves as a kind of pregnancy, a time of growth and preparation for our faith, before the celebration of the birth of our Lord.  During Advent we think about those things which occur prior to the birth.  We think about John, and Mary, and even Joseph.  We think about the conception of Jesus in his mother's womb and what it means for God to take on human flesh and dwell among us in this way.  On this last Sunday in Advent, we implore God through his means of grace to focus our hearts and our minds on the meaning and purpose of this child, who, prior to his birth, is already the fullness of the divinity dwelling in that yet-to-be-born human body.