This is the sixth and last of a series of posts on the Christmas story in the gospels. The first one concerned Matthew’s account, the second concerned Mark’s account, the…

This is the fifth of a series of posts on the Christmas story in the gospels. The first one concerned Matthew’s account, the second concerned Mark’s account, and the…

 This is the fourth of a series of posts on the Christmas story in the gospels. The first one concerned Matthew’s account, and the second concerned Mark’s account.  I’m dividing consideration of the story in Luke into two parts. The first is…

This is the third of a series of posts on the Christmas story in the gospels. The first one concerned Matthew’s account, and the second concerned Mark’s account.  I'll divide consideration of the story in Luke into two parts.

The gospel of Luke is our other nativity story. Or rather it is what…

This is the second of a series of posts on the Christmas story in the gospels. The first one concerned Matthew’s account.

If we mean by the Christmas story the story of Jesus’s miraculous birth to Mary, then there is no Christmas story in Mark. This gospel begins when Jesus is a grown man.

But suppose we take the Christmas story to be the story of Jesus’s beginnings. Though Quakers…

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house. We’ve acquired a tree, but it’s still in the garage waiting our unearthing the stand. A smaller artificial tree is up and now has lights, and there is candle lights in each of the front windows. Ribbons are beginning to festoon light fixtures. And we’ve made our first two batches of Christmas cookies. Much more to come in preparing the house for the season, but we’re well begun.

To prepare my heart for the season, I’ve been…