This year for Advent, we are "Setting the Stage" for Christmas as we prepare our hearts, minds, homes, and families for the birth of Christ. In the theater, the backdrops provide the context for the scenery, characters and action. The scenery provides a clue as to how the plot might unfold. In musicals, a chorus might be repeated over and over, or highlight an important aspect of the story. The characters stand at the core of the drama.

For the Nativity, the prophets set the stage with the stories of waiting and hope. The scenery of the shepherd's fields and the lowly stable keep us guessing and we don't quite know what to expect in such humble places. Angels sing a chorus of "peace on earth". And while the cast of characters are all interesting in and of themselves, our main character is a newborn.

It's a play that we know by heart. We know the cues for Mary and Joseph, for the angels and shepherds, for the wise men. And yet, each Advent, it unfolds slowly before us, as we wait with eager anticipation for the next plot point, a new twist in the story, something we missed before.

In John Indermark's book, Setting the Stage for Christmas, he encourages his readers to "wrestle with the words of the prophets...envision scenes that may seem as close as home this season. Struggle to hear anew the choruses brought by angels...and watch with parents as words and dreams and birth come to pass...and as God takes the stage in the Child."

May we all find time to do just that this Advent as we find ourselves caught up in the story of Christmas.