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We are given these four weeks each year to get ready for the coming of Christ, but what does that mean?For many people, this means checking off a list of presents we need to buy for family and friends. For some, it means going into debt. What does this have to do with preparing for Christ? For thousands of years the Jewish people have prepared and watched for the Messiah. What were they looking for? Their idea of a Messiah was of a powerful king and so they missed the signs that pointed to Jesus.We, too, can miss the signs of the presence of Christ among us. Christmas celebrates the fact that Jesus came, lived his life as a model for us, died for us to save us from the punishment of our sins, and rose from the dead so that we would know of our salvation and the love of God that promises forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. We can best prepare for Christmas by celebrating this reality every day.Advent is a time for us to think about this great gift and ask ourselves how we are preparing to meet him when he comes again. If we put all our energies into shopping, we are missing the mark. Just as we are Easter people, living with a sense of joy in our salvation, we are Christmas people, welcoming Christ into our world each day in the people we meet, in the circumstances where we find ourselves.In the story of the Fourth Wiseman, our hero falls behind in his search for the newborn king because he stops and helps people in need for thirty-three years and finally meets him at the foot of the cross on Calvary. He then realizes that he has "met" Christ in all the people he helped over those years. This Advent, let’s be alert and watchful and recognize the signs that Christ is among us.Prayer: Gracious God, be with us as we begin our preparations to celebrate the birth of your Son, Jesus. Keep our focus on the true meaning of Christmas and be watchful so that we might recognize opportunities to find Christ in the faces of those who suffer from loneliness or depression and reach out to them with compassion and love. Amen.