Advent: Fourth Sunday

“Are we there yet?”
“No, not yet, Little One.”

“Are we there YET?”
“Soon. We’ll be there very soon?”

“ARE WE THERE YET?”
“Be patient just a little longer.”

We joke about this image of a child sitting in the backseat asking a parent again and again, “Are we there yet?”
How often does the parent become exasperated? We see the eye rolls and the grimace when the small voice behind the headrest pipes up with that all too common refrain.

This Sunday we celebrate the fourth, and final, Sunday of the Advent season. The last purple candle in the outer ring of the wreath is lit. We call this candle Peace.
The angel came to Mary to announce the Messiah who would bring Peace.
Peace between God and the Cosmos.

Yet, look around.
Where is Peace?
Troubled minds and spirits roam the earth in search of it.
Nations tremble in fear waiting to see it.

This candle with its flickering, fragile flame reminds us that we have not yet arrived. There are still a few miles to travel before we reach the destination.

“Are we there yet?”
“No, not yet. But, soon. Very soon.”