Advent

A set of double doors marked "17" on my Advent calendar opened to a charming image of a minister surrounded by children.

My first thought was of one of the most famous passages in the New Testament:

This morning, I found window 15 outside the church building on the stairs leading up to the cathedral door. Upon opening it, a picture of a smiling family greeted me-a father, mother, and two children.

Following on the theme of the last two windows, Dec. 12 on the Advent calendar opened to a picture of an ox with a book-the symbol of the gospel of Luke.

As I opened window 10, I had to squint to see a small angelic figure holding a book-the traditional Christian symbol for Matthew, the gospel writer. Although Christmas conjures images of angels, the Matthew sign isn't an angel. His symbol is a human being with wings.

I'm on the road this morning. So I called my husband and asked him to open the fifth window on the Advent calendar. "What it is?" I asked. "Singing," he replied. "Not angels. No heavenly choir. People. People singing."

"The cheese is gone, someone came in and stole the cheese."