She's forty-one and Daddy still calls her Baby!

All the folks 'round Brownsville say she's crazy,

'Cause she walks downtown with her suitcase in her hand,

Looking for a mysterious dark-haired man.

In my mind I could see her, like a woman from one of the alleys downtown. Sometimes I see her and think: "I wonder who she really is. I wonder what it was that happened to her. I wonder what she was like when she was just a girl. Did she ever imagine living on the streets?"

Helen Reddy's woman has a history:

In her younger days they called her Delta Dawn,

Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on.

Then a man of low degree stood by her side,

Promised her he'd take her for his bride.

Years ago she was a shy young beauty. Daddy's girl. Inexperienced at love. Then a stranger came to town. He saw the glow in her eyes and the flush in her cheeks. He felt the fevered emotions in her heart. So he courted this beautiful young girl and swept her off her feet. They were madly in love, and they made all kinds of promises.

But then he left her. He said it was only for a little while. "Wait for me!" he said. "I'll be back soon! We'll get married, and I'll take you to my grand estate where you will live like a queen! Just wait for me! I'll be back before you know it!"

That's where the story becomes sad, because he never did come back. And something happened to her in her mind. Now she walks up and down the streets of Brownsville, crazy glint in her eye, wearing a rumpled wedding dress, muttering to herself, looking, looking, always looking for her lover.

But he never comes. The crowds on the streets of Brownsville stop and stare. They taunt her in her misery, stirring the memories until she rushes madly to the next corner:

Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?

Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?

And did I hear you say he was a-meetin' you here today

To take you to his mansion in the sky?

They shake their heads and laugh spitefully. Knowingly, they nod to one another, and then turn back to their work. And crazy old Delta Dawn shuffles down the street.

Now, that may not be much of a classic song, but it evokes some powerful images, especially if you think about the Church of Jesus Christ, and the celebration of Advent. We call the Church the Bride of Christ! The Church is like a beautiful young woman, engaged to be married to Jesus! Years ago He touch us. He swept us off our feet. He taught us to love, and then gave us an engagement ring. He said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love!" He said, "I am the Bridegroom and you are the Bride!" He said, "I have to leave you now for a little while, but I'll come back for you! I'm preparing a mansion for you!"

He even sent a telegram some time ago, by way of a heavenly messenger. The telegram had just three words on it, three words and an exclamation point: "I'm coming soon!"

And here we are, packed and ready, scanning the horizons for our lover.

Are we crazy? Are we like Delta Dawn? Is this a foolish thing we do, sitting here, packing our bags for eternity, waiting for a mysterious dark-haired man who never seems to come, muttering to ourselves on Sundays while the rest of the world passes by and smiles knowingly, shaking its head?!