In the liturgical year there is never celebration without preparation. First we wait, we mourn, we ache, we repent. We aren’t ready to celebrate until we acknowledge, over time through ritual and worship, that we and this world are not yet right and whole.3 Before Easter, we have Lent. Before Christmas, we have Advent. We fast. Then we feast. We prepare. We practice waiting. In the sacred rhythm of our time, we embrace the tension of our reality. We live between D-day and V-day. The victory is secured, but the war continues a little longer.
