We get to hear such wonderful good news about Jesus today: “And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14). These are for me the first sips of the holy Christmas toast for which the angels bid us to raise the goblets of our hearts throughout the next 12 days. Then, we get to savor a bit of Matthew’s Christmas story: “In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage’” (Matthew 2:1–2).
The good news expands from shepherds in the region around Bethlehem, greeted by angels as they keep watch over their flocks by night, to visitors from the east who follow a star. So the saving work of Jesus and the good news he brings continues to expand from our hearths and churches to unite and save our world, the planet, the cosmos. This is the good news our world truly needs this Christmas.
The Synod Staff joins me in giving thanks that we get to share the good news of Jesus with you and accompany you as you share the good news of Jesus with others. Join us in raising a glass of the gospel to those you love today, carrying the good news into the world in the days to come, and having the most joyous of Christmases.
The Rev. Craig Alan Satterlee, Ph.D., Bishop
