All this “Christmas creep” with its joyous festivities can obscure the fact that Advent is similar to Lent; a season of repentance.  In Advent though, it is not repentance because of sin that led to Jesus being crucified, but repentance in preparation for the Lord’s first coming and His return. 

Let us not forget the birth of Christ in the Christmas "off-season." But remember it as the beginning of our faith. And let us look forward to the next year, where we will continue to show Native communities that God loves them and will never leave them.