Christmas Worship Hamilton Uniting Church 2022

   Christmas holds so many truths all at once, as it has for thousands of years. Matthew wrote with strong intention to place Jesus story in parallel with that of Moses, reflecting also Isaiah's prophetic tradition. In this way the details, taught as concrete literal truth, get in the way of what this story might just be about... God One Of Us Here Now! Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, leads us to look with several new lenses at the story we’ve heard since we were toddling around in pajamas. "There’s the beauty of a young family shepherding a new life into the world, amid brutal oppression from a power-hungry empire. There’s the unwed teenage girl who’s told she will carry the savior of the world while a disdainful religious culture watches her belly swell. Through it all, we get a glimpse at Mary’s fierce desire to honor her Creator, and the tremendous power held in the way she accepts this divine assignment." 

As Nadia takes us through the Christmas story, she points out how God moves through the world by turning the notions of “power” and “blessing” upside down while lifting up the voiceless and the oppressed, reminding us that “being ‘blessed’ means seeing God in the world and trusting that God is at work even in things we can’t see, understand, or imagine.” (adapted from Jen Hatmaker)

   Can love be born again in a manger full of all the problems in our world today? Can we know we are all daughters and sons of God as we live out the call to join God in the neighbourhood?

   The Nativity image above invites what all this means, a story in context, note all the hidden clues to meaning in the image, don't stop at 10-12 subtle inclusions...