Blessed Advent! Remember last week where we read about this crazy man John "crying out in the desert"? Well, this week we read about what the people of his time wondered about him. They all asked him "What should we do?" The crowds were asking, the tax collectors were asking, the soldiers were asking. And he answers each of them according to the temptation of their particular state in life. To the crowds he says, share of your abundance. To the tax collectors he says, stop taking more money for yourselves. Only collect from the people what is proscribed. To the soldiers he says, stop extorting money. And so, what must we do to prepare? I ask myself if I am sharing from even the little that I think I have. Do I charge more than a fair price for my work? If I lend money to anyone, do I expect too much more in return? I challenge myself this week, and I challenge you, to take some time and think about how we are preparing for the coming birth of Christ, in history, in today's world, and in the future when he will come to bring all of creation back to the Father.