What Christmas songs do you look forward to hearing during Christmas? From Jingle Bells to Silver Bells, all of us have memories that the music of Christmas provokes. So did the first Christmas, From the Magnificat of Mary, the prophetic hymn of Zechariah, the Gloria of the angels to the thankful hymn of Simeon, all found in the Gospel of Luke, we receive a vision of the emotions and anticipation of that first Christmas season

What dreams drive your Christmas experience? Is it the hope of a gift you may receive or, better yet, plan to give? Maybe it is a visit with a family member? Or maybe a grown-up Christmas list of wishes for our world? The first Christmas was filled with the dreams of its major participants. From Mary’s dream of promise, Joseph’s dreams of assurance and warning, the wise men’s dream to go home by another way, and the angelic visions of the shepherds, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke make clear that the first Christmas was filled with dreamers whose hopes and anticipations were met in the Christ child.

What sensations come with your anticipation of Christmas? Hope, joy, goodness, and generosity are wonderful sensations. Personally, I like the smell and taste of the New England Clam Chowder and sausage balls we always eat on Christmas Eve. According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the first Christmas was filled with many sensations. From the warmth of the stable assured by the hot breath of the animals in attendance to the cacophony of people all assembled for counting and taxation to the shimmering beauty of the gift of gold accompanied by the pungent smells of frankincense and myrrh, the first Christmas was filled with sensations of the Word made flesh.

May the songs, dreams and sensations of this Christmas season fill you with joy and peace!

Thy pastor and friend,

Stan