God

From all accounts, everyone in Nazareth would have just thought of Jesus as a very good boy who obeyed his parents and worked hard with his father as a tekton’s apprentice in the family trade.

It is the words the pastor speaks that send the dead out alive.

Christians are given a new name at baptism. We are given the Triune name of Father, Son, and Spirit.

We think that if we are good enough, brave enough, or at least if we try hard enough, we will be someone who can be both fully known and fully loved.

Christmas is, therefore, the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry, even while he awaits a number of years to gather his disciples and inaugurate his preaching of the kingdom.