Second Sunday of Advent: Love

The Christmas story is compressed into a few pages in New Testament

For instance, no sooner do the birth announcements arrive than the babies are born
- first John and then Jesus
• in Luke chapter 2 Jesus is born, and by end of the chapter he’s already twelve years old
◦ though the magi are often pictured alongside the shepherds at the stable,
◦ when they actually arrived in Bethlehem, Jesus was already two years old
• through all the personal and political movement going on during this time,
◦ a variety of human emotions surface
- shame was a factor and fear was frequently present or assuaged
• more than once, someone was troubled, and Herod was furious
◦ but there is also joy and rejoicing, and people are blessed
• but in all these alternating feelings and emotions, there is no mention of LOVE!
- the main characters in the story are husbands and wives, facing challenges together
• they were two couples, blessed with miraculous pregnancies and births
• and still, there is no mention of LOVE