The Wonder of Christmas (Christian Peele)

Isaiah 52:7-8 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion. // Isaiah 52 talks about watchmen, people on lookout, who lift up their voices and bring good news to those who wait, news about all the good things that God longs for and calls us to pursue with one another, things like peace, wholeness, and most of all, love. That’s what we recall in the celebration of Christ’s birth on Christmas: that love, vulnerable, fragile, just like the tender life of a baby born to immigrant parents running for their lives, is more powerful than anything in all the world. We can point those around us to the real meaning of Christmas no matter what day of the year it is, in how we forgive and seek forgiveness, in how we spend our money, in how we risk for love, in how we volunteer our time to causes that matter, in how we vote, in how we challenge boundaries between ourselves and others different from us, in how we hold open to hope even when circumstances are dire we can change the world by pointing it away from the darkness of hate and into the wonder of Christmas Day. -Minister Christian Peele // What will you do to point to the real meaning of Christmas? // This episode was written and recorded by Bruce Lamb. It was produced by Jim Keat. Samples include Silver Bells by the Temptations. Background tracks include Relinquish, Platformer, and Lode Runner by Podington Bear. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to download the 2018 Advent devotional and to listen to more episodes of Be Still and Go.