Sometimes, in a world full of war and religious and political conflict, it's hard to see hope for the future. We hear God's promise for a future of peace, and, like the Israelites in Mary's time, we start to ask "How long, Lord?" Yet Mary knew that the promise of salvation was imminent. Jonathan reminds us that Advent is more than a time of waiting, it is a time for actively preparing and re-orienting ourselves toward t he hope taht is Jesus.