25 Dec 2025 - The Christ Mass - Live from St Francis скачать в хорошем качестве

25 Dec 2025 - The Christ Mass - Live from St Francis

The Birth of the Christ Child is very different from the usual fairy tales in that there was nothing beautiful, clean and tidy about the birth of Christ. No clean room, just animals in a stable. They had travelled a long way by foot to be counted – to be treated like cattle being counted. The Christmas Story is no fairy tale. It is a hard, tough story, making Jesus much more really and able to associate with our hard, broken world. The reality of the Christmas Story is so much more powerful than a fairy story with a happy ending. He was royalty, but no rich and powerful people were there to celebrate His birth. The shepherds were there: outsiders who were unwelcome anywhere else. The shepherds are a reminder that God includes all and in some ways confirms the story’s veracity. Why is it that only the shepherds saw the angels? The marginalised shepherds saw them. Look for God there. The inclusivity of the marginalised is a powerful comparison that Luke makes, as he starts with Caesar, who was all powerful and wanted to count people to tax them, while the Divine Prince of Peace reaches into all lives to bring healing and hopeful restoration. Readings: Isiah 52:7-10, Psalm 98, Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12) , Luke 2:1-20