Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

Imagine going to a National Park -- like Arches or Yellowstone -- but not going in to see the arch formations or Old Faithful. Imagine receiving a gift of delicious food, but not opening it, not eating it. Letting it go to waste. Why would you do any of those things, right? But that's what happens at Christmas for many people. The story of Advent and Christmas is the entrance, the door, into the story of Jesus. It is not the end, the destination, but the beginning, the entrance. But it's when you go in -- there is the reward. Then you see the wonders. So we start each church year on this First Sunday of Advent by going in.