SURPRISE! (Luke 1.26-38)
Now don’t tell anyone, because I have a reputation to keep. But I love Christmas. This is my third Christmas as an ordained person. Before I was ordained I worried that I would be unable to celebrate Christmas. I would end up being bitter, and busy. The way I celebrate Christmas is different. Christmas time is certainly much less relaxing than it was. I don’t get time off like many others; I do have to go to lots of things I don’t want to go to, like church. The core of Christmas hasn’t changed for me. That sense of love. The incarnation of Jesus still happens, and I still get to eat Christmas Dinner! Back of the net! But now I have an excellent excuse to have it cooked for me. Oh, I’m working, I couldn’t possibly come to you. So in some ways Christmas is better. I’ve discovered Christmas in a very different way, and deepened my knowledge and sense of what it means. That’s been a gift and a surprise. This time of year is all about gifts and surprises . It’s certainly been...