Every year as we tell the Christmas Story again, it’s easy to fall into the rhythm of it – we know it so well.
But really: who are these people? What do we know about Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth…? What kind of people were they and how were they positioned to be at the center of the enormous new thing God was doing? What was it like for them and how did they respond?
And what do we learn about who God uses – and what it’s like – when God makes a move in our world?
This Advent (beginning December 1) in worship, we will be waiting for Jesus to come with Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, the shepherds, the Magi – and even with the angel Gabriel! – as we learn more about each of them.
And our Christmas focus will continue, right up to Epiphany (aka Three Kings Day) on January 6, when the children will present our Christmas Pageant.
May we be blessed as we contemplate the reality of the Christmas characters, ordinary figures who once participated with God in extraordinary ways.