"He shall be named Emmanuel, which means, 'God with us.'" God with us! The incarnation of Christ, becoming a little baby, is what Christmas is all about. And it is also about making room in our hearts for this babe born in Bethlehem. Although we are taking a break from studying the parables of Jesus and his kingdom, it seems that this season of Advent can expand our thinking about being kingdom people. Christmas means that Christ has moved into our neighborhood, and more, he has given us a new address: the kingdom of God. It wasn't that long ago that we sat in the park and began our study. The first lesson I taught was on the tax collector and the Pharisee. We saw that the tax collector had the audacity to be real before God. We looked at the mustard seed dropping down into the dark earth and then becoming more than it should be and yeast that when it is mixed into the whole becomes an explosion of something new. Finally we came to the woman in Thoma