Christmas Day (Year 2, NL)

From the wise men to the wedding at Cana, joy comes from recognizing and affirming the good.

Why does Matthew insist on calling Jesus a king?

Luke has some sense of how a baby can change everything.

I am less like the Magi than some members of my church are.

Can we recognize Jesus' coming as good news?

If people can approach the faith without thinking they already know what it is, they might hear the good news for themselves.

Our busyness at Christmas hides God's busyness for us—but Luke's Gospel reveals it.

I've always assumed that the revelation here is that Jews should let the gentiles into the community. But perhaps the revelation is at least as much the fact that the gentiles want to be included.

If all it took was a star to compel a person to Bethlehem, the Magi would arrive to see a multitude.

There are many ways we receive the gift of Jesus badly.

Two new books on immigration complement each other well. And where Todd Miller’s falls short, Deirdre Cornell’s shines most brightly.

I know of a congregation that, for many years, provided a “living nativity pageant” in its community. The church is in the center of town and has an expansive front lawn. On a certain December Sunday afternoon each year, it would fill that lawn with live sheep and goats and donkeys, costumed shepherds and wise men, a gaggle of angels, an innkeeper, a manger, and, of course, the holy family.

The Magi's alien exoticism is an intrinsic part of Matthew's story.

The frankincense gift needs to be taped back together. So does the stable wall.