“Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him”  Hebrews 9: 28  The season of Advent marks the beginning of the Church's liturgical year. The four Sundays of Advent are observed in most church traditions and are seen as a preparation for Christmas. All Christmas-related activities begin in churches during this time. For Christians, this signals the shopping, giving, decorating and cooking that comes with the season. But is Advent just a preparation for Christmas? If the Church wanted to focus on the preparation for the celebration of the first coming of our Lord, it could have called it the Christmas season. But we have a separate Christmas season, from Christmas Day to Epiphany. If this is so, how should we think of Advent? Recently, as I was going through the lectionary readings for Advent, I realised that the season is not only a preparation for Christmas, ...