Merry Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born; for unto us a Son is given..." Isaiah 9:6

For your Christmas pleasure and inspiration here is:
1. The choir of the Hyde Park United Methodist Church singing the old Bach Christmas hymn, "Break forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light" with the lyrics below; I love to point out fine examples of evocative traditional church architecture.



Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light, and usher in the morning;
O shepherds, shrink not with affright, but hear the angels warning.
This child, now weak in infancy, our confidence and joy shall be,
the power of Satan breaking, our peace eternal making.

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And then,

2. Today is the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of peace - the famous Christmas ceasefires that spontaneously broke out along the Western Front in 1914.  For a couple days soldiers chose to set aside the orders of the great Powers of this World in the name of the Prince of Peace.  This video is a wonderful reminder of what really can and does happen when we let Christ's agenda take precedence over the agendas of this world.  Some of the video comes from the film "Joyeux Noel" (and looking at those prices, maybe I should sell my copy!).

N.T. Wright on Creation, New Creation, and Marriage

N.T. (Tom) Wright, professor of New Testament at St. Andrew's Scotland, former Anglican Bishop of Durham, explores the Bible's connections between Creation and New Creation and Marriage along with how these great truths inform how Christians are called to live in the midst of a confused world as sign-posts of something true and good and of God.

My understanding is that this is the lecture he gave at the Vatican's recent "Humanum Conference," with speakers from Judaism, Christianity, and other religions - convened by Pope Francis - on the beauty of traditional marriage and family values.