Luke sets us up to see the birth of Jesus as more than the uncommon birth of the Son of God. It is a common flashpoint for love.
seeing the Christmas story as ours
Christmas Eve | Luke 2:1-20
My favorite part of telling stories is the reveal. That’s why they always need a set-up. I like to tell you at the outset what you need to know, then fill you up with details, and finally, unleash the big reveal.
The problem is that I do this in casual conversation too. So people constantly interrupt me to say “what are you talking about?” They feel like they’re missing something. And I’m like Yes! You totally are! I’m getting there! The part you’re missing is the best part! So we’ve got to build that up! But listen to the set-up because it’s gonna be good!
You can go straight at the small stuff, but we never truly appreciate the big stuff without context.
Stories often need this sense of drama for us to really internalize them. So if I’m telling you about my lunch, we’re just going to cut to the chase. You don’t need a setup or details. You’re barely listening to that anyway.
But if I’m telling you about my lunch because its the setup to a story about how I almost died, that anchors the story. And now the details become pregnant with meaning.
This is why we love stories. Be they galactic or supremely grounded and local.
And it’s why this story we read every year radiates with life…
The full text may be found here.
For a limited time, the audio may be found here.