First a note about the giver of the gifts. That is the Father. The glory of the Father is the wrapping the present is wrapped in. When John says, "We have seen his glory," he means it. He's one of the actual witnesses to a true event. But what good is seeing a wrapped present if we only look at the wrapping?
Tag: Christmas
Incarnation
Christmas 2023 A typical Christmas scene. A wooden building with straw on the floor. To the right are three men wearing crowns, the one at the front is kneeling presenting his gift. To the left are two boys, probably playing shepherds. In the centre are a couple, a young woman in blue and a man …
O come, let us adore him
Eleven different ways of experiencing Christianity—Part 12 There are many ways of seeing yourself as a Christian. You can add another way as your faith grows; you can have more than one at a time and move through them over time. I am going to look at this through Advent this year. None of them …
God rest ye merry — Matthew 20:17–19
The King’s actions The final journey It seems a strange passage to read on the Christmas Bank Holiday, one which talks about Jesus talking about his coming death. But if we are going to think about Jesus being Emmanuel, God with us, we cannot do it justice without thinking about why he came. The song …
The best Christmas carol for 2020
Merry Christmas There has been discussion on Twitter about the best carol for Christmas 2020. Whilst there have been plenty of punning answers, which I will not distract you with, OK, maybe one ... The first vaccine, oh Fauci did say was to certain poor people in homes where they layIn homes where they stay …
It all changed here
A very happy Christmas to you all. Christmas is a good news story, really it is but it may not look like it from first appearances. God did not come to make himself look good. Jesus was not born into a royal family in a palace with all the trappings of power, privilege and prestige, …
Poem: Christmas then and now
Christmas then and now A poem for Christmas 2018 Shrunk down to human size God comes to earth, And in his poverty< We find our worth. The choirs of angels sing. Shepherds and wise men come To see, adore. Humbly like them, we come, We kneel before And praise the newborn King.
What I’m blogging about in Advent
Advent blogs. In Advent, I will be blogging every day except Sundays. well, that's the plan anyway. I will be starting on a few blogs about the difference between God's values of the world, then, as Christmas gets closer, looking at the Christmas story as given in Matthew's Gospel. My thoughts on what happened in …
Preparation: Too busy
Christmas, a time of stress. All the preparations to make for Christmas, buying the perfect present, wrapping, sending, writing all the cards, sending. Then there's the house to clean and decorate, and a tree to put up indoors. Then there's all the festive food to buy and cook. All whilst holding down a full time …
Christmas songs
It is OK, I am not talking about those pop songs which have been playing on repeat in supermarkets and boutiques since October. Shop workers, you have my sympathy. Nor am I going to pull the lyrics apart because they do not represent Palestine as it was then. I want to look at what is …
Making an ass of myself 