Christmas Overture
The Advent of the Messiah
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 2 Corinthians 3:18 The Message16-18 Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil, and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him." 2 Corinthians 4:6 The Message5-6 Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are his messengers, errand runners, from Jesus for you. It started when God said, 'Light up the darkness!' and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
For Reflection
I close this week with the words of the late Marcus Borg.
"Jesus is already the light in the darkness for those who follow him. Conceived by the Spirit and christened as Son of God by the community that grew up around him, he is, for Christians, Emmanuel: “God with us.”
"Archbishop Oscar Romero, a twentieth-century Christian martyr, killed by the powers that ruled El Salvador, once said that we are called to be Easter Christians in a Good Friday world, in a world still ruled by Herod and Caesar. So also, we are called to be Christmas Christians in a world that still descends into darkness. But Good Friday and the descent of darkness do not--unless we let them." Borg, Marcus J.; Crossan, John Dominic. The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth (p. 243). HarperOne. Kindle Edition. PrayPraise God for the gift of Jesus. Next, pray and contemplate the auspicious Jesus event. Finally, pray and consider how you choose light over darkness as you move through your everyday walking-around life.
Forward to a friend | 
