When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would bear the Son of God, “For nothing will be impossible with God,” Mary answered, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
What an amazingly powerful response to God’s hope for the world. With Mary’s response, Christ was born and the world came to know God’s love in new form.
I have seen miracles. I have seen God act powerfully, mysteriously and miraculously. I pay special attention to miracles at Christmas.
In our United Church Song of Faith we sing of how “God tends the universe, mending the broken and reconciling the estranged.” We go on to sing of the initiative that God took in the birth of Jesus, to make this mending and reconciling visible in a new way.
My sister-in-law posted this to her Facebook and I've been hearing about it in other places as well. So, I'll post it here to kick off (I hope) a thread of seasonal musical cheer. I give you ... drummer Sean Quigley with his rendition of The Little Drummer Boy.
I caught mine on tv today, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I think it's my favourite because it wasn't on frequently for years, so when I caught it in my teens it brought back a flood of memories from when I was a little kid that I don't really get when it's a movie I see every year.
I don't know what it was, but I was actually getting teary eyed watching it!
As many of you know, I work very hard to serve as an example of one who can be conservative in my beliefs without being narrow of mind or intolerant of others. WIth that in mind, I am growing alarmed at the number of people who are becoming militant in their insistence that we use the salutation Merry Christmas to the exclusion of all other greetings.
Christmas music is playing in the mall, and Santa's all setup getting wishlists and taking pictures. Santa was there on September 12. The Salvation Army had their kickoff today. I realize that it's not the same organization that plans these 2 start dates, but to me the order seems a little backwards. Personally, I would like to see them either start at the same time or for Santa to show up a little later. I guess it doesn't really matter, but considering it's only November putting the commercialism ahead of the charity kinds irks me.
