You see, the truth be told is we have to make some decisions. If we are going to make room for Christ, then what we have to do is to subtract something. You cannot add something. You see, the message of Christmas is not about us having to do something as much as it is to let go of something so that Christ can come into our lives again because He has already come. He is already here. He is a “God with us,” Emmanuel, that is what we celebrate every year.

Jacob with the dream of ascending and descending angels. The boy Samuel hears God's voice in the night. Joseph, the patriarch, interprets Pharaoh's dreams. And of course, today, we hear about Joseph hearing the angel come to him in the night and what he is called to do.

Today, as we celebrate Gaudete Sunday. Rejoice! We have to understand that what comes in the midst of rejoicing is doubting. It is not the enemy or the opposite, and it is not present when we rejoice. We have to rejoice in the midst of doubting, because that is the reality of our lives.

The Greek word that we translate as "repent" is actually the word “metanoia.” It does not simply mean to feel sorry for what we have done. It does not mean just to confess our sins and then go back to living the same way. It means something far more radical. It means a complete turnaround. A fundamental change of direction. A transformation of the mind and heart. It is a whole, all-in concept, not just a slight change of direction, an all-in.

There is a condition spreading through our society that psychologists call "hurry sickness." It is the chronic feeling that there is never enough time. We rush from one task to the next, one meeting to the next meal, one obligation to another commitment. Our calendars overflow. Our minds race. And our to-do lists regenerate faster than we can check items off.