Is it really what we think?

Pure curiosity has brought me to this point. My wise mother gave me this book to read around the holidays and I was well….curious. I have yet to read but two chapters so far. And yet I have witnessed insight brimming from the pages. The best place to begin I believe is to read the original Christmas story found in-

Matthew 1:18-2:23

And Luke 1:26-2:40

If you have a Bible I encourage you to pick it up and read it even if you read it yesterday and even if you have read it a thousand times. No Bible? You can find any passage online. However I will post it next for everyone to refer to including myself.

Amusing as it may seem I cannot even answer my own question.

What is this Spirit of Christmas thing?

We’ll see…

Quote from ‘In Search of… The Real Spirit of Christmas’ Written by Dan Schaeffer

“This becomes even more remarkable when we understand that shepherds in the first century weren’t the pastoral, gentle-eyed, soft-spoken fellows portrayed by Hallmark. They were considered unreliable, untrustworthy, and not a little larcenous.”

“Picture a room full of men drinking beer, making disgusting male noises, and cheering on their favorite football teams with gusto and excitement. Add lots of yelling and words that aren’t heard in polite society and you come close to describing the crude demeanor of first-century shepherds. So when it says that the shepherds were glorifying and praising God, it does not mean that they were offering artistic praise in highly cultured terms or quiet, reflective praise in articulate phrases. It was more like the last second of a playoff game in overtime, when the home team wins and the whooping and hollering begins.”

This struck me hard. It made me second guess even the Manger scene in my own living room.

Dan brought along another thought that whacked me harder than the first. What about Mary and Joseph? Their sweet baby was born in a yucky manger right in front of them. I don’t know if they second guessed themselves or Gods plan but I assume that seeing those shepherds rejoice and hearing their testimony must have lit their hearts up! It was all going just the way God wanted it. How amazing. Dan also gave some good ideas including picturing yourself as each of the people in the Christmas story. To read and re-read slowly and imagine how you would have reacted if you were Mary, Joseph, or even the shepherds.

I’m off to do just that.

(; Faith Mae