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A Cross at Christmas
Christmas, for many, is a magical time of twinkling lights, singing, brightly colored packages, cookies, candy, parties, and laughter. However, for others, Christmas is shrouded with the stark reality of a cross they have to bear. Some will face things like roaring fires that ravage neighborhoods, hospital rooms, funeral homes, broken relationships, drunken relatives, or deep sorrow as they look in vain for the faces of those who are missing from their lives.
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No Room in the Inn
The angel affirmed, “Nothing is impossible with God!” Yet Mary gave birth to God incarnate in a barn because there was no room for them in the inn. God chose not to make room for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in comfort. Why…
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The Sign Given to the Shepherds
This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12-14)
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Glorious Grace
Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father (John 1:14). Today we gather around tables and sit around Christmas trees to celebrate God’s interjection into our ordinary world. This day is unlike any other on the calendar because 2,000 years ago, the Son did the unbelievable—he put on our flesh. And as the Message reads, “. . . moved into [our] neighborhood." Who is this God who came to dwell with us? John summarizes his glorious existence in two simple words—grace and truth. These two five-letter…
