A Little Christmas Pasta...

Twas the night before the night before...

Here is hoping that this blog update finds you all well and increasingly enjoying the Christmas holiday. We have managed to squeeze in a bout of the 24 hour stomach bug for Mel this week, but she seems to be much better today and we are hoping for a clean bill of health the rest of the way through the break.

As always, I very much enjoyed the discussion on Sunday. I wasn't sure I wanted to do a Christmas discussion, but as it turned out I am glad we did.

As always, again, there were a few things I think are worth mentioning that we did not get to.

I want to go back to the whole idea of the angels appearing to shepherds. We did talk on Sunday about how shepherds were held in very low standing at the time. They were not even allowed to offer testimony in a court of law because of their social standing. And God, who often does such things, chose those who could not testify in a human court to bear witness to the birth of His son. And they did so! Luke tells us that they went their way telling everyone what they had heard and seen. And so, these common shepherds were the first to tell others about the Good Shepherd. Coincidence? I think not.

It has also been speculated that these sheep in the care of the shepherds on the hill may well have been sheep that would later be sold to Jews who needed a sheep for their sacrifice. That is not recorded in the scripture, but t was common practice and is not outside the realm of possibility. It would be just like God to do that as well- to play with the details and have the shepherds leave their sheep to go and see the sacrificial lamb.

In thinking about the fact that this kind of account of Jesus' birth is only recorded in Luke, and even then not to a great extent, there is another interesting principle in play. It is know as the "Principle of Proportion". The principle of proportion simply states that the more important parts of the story get more coverage in the scriptures. Luke is the only one to give a birth account and in comparison, the amount of "ink"given to the birth does not nearly compare to the amount of attention given by Luke and all of the gospel writers to the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.

It is interesting how the world can get all cozy with the idea of a baby in a manger, but wants nothing to do with an innocent man, beaten and hanging on a cross, to save all mankind. The beginning of the story, as wonderful as it is, is nothing without the end.

But it is a remarkable thing- that the rescue plan set in motion by the God of the universe began with the birth of a baby.

Unto YOU is born THIS DAY in THE CITY OF DAVID, a SAVIOR, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD.

Just Keep Swimming...

Jon