At this time of year most children can’t wait. The excitement shines out of them as  they count down the days. For grown-ups Advent is a time of hurry trying to get organised – one moment there seems to be plenty of time then suddenly everything is on top of us.

The Church has a sense of hurry at this time as well -  but not to get the decorations up or get to the shops. The Collect for the First Sunday speaks of this; it ask that we may have the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ. 

Running is not an idea we associate with meeting Jesus. But then, to be honest, how much of a hurry are we really in to meet God? We think of that encounter in connection with death, which is quite correct; we shall meet him when we die. But it is possible to meet Jesus today. It is like spotting someone in a crowd. But a sea of faces may drown or, at least, dampen my enthusiasm. We have a saying ‘more haste less speed’ which reminds us that to make progress we need to be patient and take things carefully. The Romans had a saying which said something similar and added other layers of meaning. They said ‘festina lente’ which means ‘hurry slowly’.