Advent, a season of repentance, waiting and watching, looks forward in hope. Our Christian faith rests on the hope that Christ, who came in the flesh in history to accomplish our salvation, will also return in the same way to be our judge on the last day and bring us into eternal life.

On the final Sunday in Advent, we turn our attention toward the nativity of our Lord. With Mary, we await the coming of the Christ, her Son, conceived in her womb by the Spirit of God.

Heaven and earth rejoice this night because the glory of the holy Triune God is manifested in the human birth of “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

The Festival of the Nativity of our Lord is the traditional way of saying Christmas Day, on which Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus.

While Christmas focuses on the incarnation of our Lord — God becoming flesh — the season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ.