From the Pastor's Desk

The Good News at Christmas Time

There are lots of things that I treasure about church. One of them is the many opportunities for new, fresh starts. For many, the Christmas season begins when the radio starts to play the songs of the season or after retailers start selling air-inflated snowmen and gift-wrapping paper. But for worshippers, like you and me, it is also a time when we shift from one gospel writer to another. And that means for us, a welcomed revisiting of the story of Jesus from Matthew. 

Matthew tells the story of the birth of Jesus as part of a bigger story. Both Matthew and Luke, N.T. Wright says, “ask us to see it (the birth) in the life of both the entire history of Israel - in which God was always present and at work, often in very surprising ways - and, more particularly, of the subsequent story of Jesus himself.”  The gift Matthew gives to us, then, is context, explanation and expectation. 

Jesus’ family background, from Joseph’s side, is recorded through the great King David and Father Abraham. The context of Jesus’ birth is nested in the redemptive saga of Israel. Additionally, Jesus was conceived in an exceptional, special way. Rather than explain the virgin birth scientifically, Matthew tells the story of The Messiah entering human history by means of the first of a lifetime of extraordinary works and words. Jesus’ Hebrew name is “Joshua”, who is remembered as the appointed leader who brought the people of Israel into the promised land after the death of Moses. Matthew would have us to expect, by grace and through faith, another “exodus”: a rescue from sin and death. 

I hope you cherish all the perennial blessings of Christmas. Among them, I can’t wait to join you in opening up Matthew’s gospel. Of all the meaningful traditions, this is one that just might be my favorite. 

Christmas blessing,

Pastor Pat