During the season of Advent we address the past, the present, and the future all at once. Looking to the past we recall the yearning of ancient Israel for the coming of their long awaited Messiah. Looking to the future we confess that Christ shall come again to judge the living and the dead. But living in the present we look for the appearing of Christ in our everyday lives. To do this we have to wake up. We have to shake off the sedation of certitude, civil religion, and consumerism and awake to the reality of Christ!