In case you needed a reminder, this is a good week to check your supply of wrapping paper and maybe grab an extra roll of tape too. I don’t know about you, but I always run out.

Why do we wrap gifts? Why do we go through such lengths to beautifully conceal an item, only for it to be so swiftly unmasked? 

Perhaps it is because a wrapped present carries mystery, anticipation, and promise. The careful folding of paper, the precise creases, the ribbon's curl—each element builds excitement and transforms an ordinary moment into something extraordinary.

There was a man in the temple named Simeon—scripture tells us—who knew he would live to see the Messiah. For Simeon, the promise of Christ's coming wasn't a sudden revelation, but a carefully anticipated gift, wrapped in centuries of prophecy and expectation. He waited, wondering about the shape of deliverance, feeling the weight of something transformative yet unseen.

Now in Advent we join in that anticipation and waiting. Perhaps like Simeon we are waiting for something broken in our world to be restored, or for some wound of our heats to be healed. God has gifts for all of us, and while the package opened might not always be what we expect, but there is no more reliable giver than God.

Prayer: Source of all our gifts, thank you. Surprise us again.