UPDATE CHRISTMAS

Christmas is about Jesus and family for Christians. Our story is that Mary, a young Jewish woman was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter, a union man. She became pregnant before they could marry. Joseph had his doubts. A poet puts it this way.

Mary may be pure

But, Joseph, are you sure?

How is one to tell?

Suppose for instance…Well…

He married her anyway. While travelling they find shelter in the back of a garage. Auto workers come by to say congratulations. A couple of swells swing by and give the newborn and the parents some presents. They 

treat him like a king.

A homeless family finds shelter, has a baby with suspicious origins. The get good wishes and handouts. Folks help out.

The story could happen to a lot of people today. The Christmas story lives because people came to believe that the baby Jesus grew up to be a man. For three years when he was in his thirties, he preached against injustices inflicted on the Jews by the Roman government and religious leaders of his time. He called for feeding the hungry and healing the sick. He ended up dead at the hands of the people he criticized. The story goes that he beat death and survived.

We are still trying to figure out who this man was. His followers called him a messiah, a son of God and even later said that Jesus and God were one flesh. The discussion about who Jesus was goes on to this day.

Christmas starts the story and the discussion of the nature of God, Jesus, the mystery of sacred and secular will never end. The followers of Jesus range from hermit monks and nuns to social activists. Some wear Jesus like a bandage of righteousness and others work for caring for humanity.