Some neighborhoods are extraordinary at Christmas. Inside and out, homes and hearths mark the days leading up to Christmas. Some neighbors have more holiday light ambitions than the Home Owners Association ever anticipated. I embrace (and defend) the gaudier side of Christmas. I am (mostly) convinced that the incarnation of the Christ in great humility plausibly implies that we may welcome the use of plastic and tinsel in our preparations to celebrate the Feast of His birth.

This Sunday, the third of Advent, is called “Gaudete” Sunday. It’s the Latin word from the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, for the opening of the reading from Philippians, Rejoice: And as we light the third Advent candle we pray: