"I wish I had never been born," sang the late Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen.  Though he may not have been aware of it, Mr. Mercury is echoing a sentiment found in Ecclesiastes, which observes, in its sixth chapter, that perhaps the miscarriage is better off than one who has lived, only to die.  Although "it has never seen the sun and never knows anything," the text notes, "it is better off than he."
     Many people have doubtless felt this way.  Sometimes life really does not seem worth living.  As we continue through the Advent season, however, let's remind ourselves that, yes, although existence can be very problemmatic indeed and we may wonder we even bother, without it, nothing would ever be.  In fact, we would not even be here to think about why we would not like to be here!
     On the other hand, as we continue our journey through the Advent season, let us bear in mind that the Christian message that God really did appear in human form (John 1:14) validates everything about why we are here, everything about why we are even here to ponder why we are here.
     After all, had God not appeared in human form, all we would have is a world that, however grand and glorious it may be, is a world without a point and, even worse, a world without a name:  it's here, but not really.  Who would know it?
     Even if we were never born, we would still need a name.