The Sixth Person of Christmas is the Holy Spirit

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Luke 1:37


I really cannot even begin to fathom the complexities of the Holy Spirit.  We know that he is equal parts God, with God the Father and God the Son.  We know that he is real, as real as a person, not some ethereal, shadowy, force-like (use the force, Luke!) object.  He has a will, a mind, a heart (or emotions).

We know that he bears witness of the Christ in the hearts of man.  We know he acts as our conscience and our guide. We know that he brings comfort and peace to our hearts, minds and lives.

But we might not know him as a baby maker. 

I struggled with infertility for years, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my Samuel is an answer to prayer.  But . . .

I was not impregnated by the Holy Spirit!

I wonder what that moment felt like for Mary.  Did she feel anything?  When Gabriel said that the Holy Spirit will come on you, did he mean in a literal, physical sense? 

We often think of the Holy Spirit like a breath, like the very breath of God.  I like the idea that the Spirit breathed into Mary, and breathed Jesus' very life into being. 

I recently heard a Christian scholar of Jewish tradition say that in the Jewish culture, birthdays are not what is celebrated.  They backtrack nine months, and celebrate the day of conception.  If that is true, can you imagine the celebration the day that the Spirit of God joined with His chosen vessel and created the Son of God?

From the moment the Spirit breathed on Mary, life was created.  The life that would save the world.

I believe the Holy Spirit has emotions; I can't even imagine how excited he must have been at that moment!  God's plan for a Messiah was coming to fruition!  The world was going to see just how much God loved! 

And at that moment, Mary - this simple girl from Nazareth - was joined with God the Spirit in a way no one else ever was, or has been since.  Can you imagine?

The Holy Spirit is important to the Christmas story because he breathed the life of Jesus into his mother.  Without God the Spirit, God the Father's plan to bring God the Son to man would not have happened.  Yes, God could have spoken and it would have happened.  Yes, God could have simply willed it to happen. 

But that He did it in such a beautiful way is part of the gift.  The Spirit came upon Mary, and by him a mere human could carry the Son of God. 

The Holy Spirit still moves, works, breathes all around us.  Just imagine what He could do for you this Christmas season. 

The Fifth Person of Christmas is Gabriel

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.  For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:35-36

The angel Gabriel is a member of a privileged group. Not only is he an angel, he's an archangel, one of two mentioned specifically mentioned in the Bible.  In church lore, there are thought to be seven archangels:  Gabriel, Michael (the other angel mentioned in the Bible), Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Remiel and Saraqael. These angels are mentioned in the Jewish canon, Enoch, which is also referenced in the book of Jude in the New Testament.  (Note:  there is some thought that there were eight archangels . . . the 8th being Lucifer.)

Archangels are messengers - trusted with God's instructions and holy words.  Archangels are warriors, sent to fight on our behalf.  They are servants of God, as are all angels.

Oh, to be Gabriel on this day.  Can you imagine with me for a moment the dark spiritual forces that might have been surrounding Mary on this day?  Satan did not want Mary to get this message from God.  Perhaps he hoped that if he caused her to have a really bad day, she would act ugly and God would change His mind about her.  Or maybe, if he stirred up a lot of evil activity that day, Gabriel would be busy - too busy to deliver the message.

I like to imagine that Gabriel, with a huge, mighty sword, is swashbuckling his way to Mary, throwing demons left and right, with a heavenly host with him, and they surround Mary at this moment, protecting her, loving her, giving God's peace and calm to her.

To me, the most important thing that Gabriel says is the very last sentence, above:  No word from God will ever fail. 

I like to imagine that Mary held onto these words for the rest of her life!  No word from God will ever fail.  God speaks peace - it will never fail.  God speaks love - it will never fail.  God speaks hope - it will never fail.  God speaks deliverance - it will never fail.

 I wonder if it was hard for Gabriel.  After all, Jesus had been in heaven forever, and Gabriel had known Jesus since Gabriel was created!  Did Gabriel know and understand all that Jesus was in for?  Did he understand the prophecies?  Would Gabriel quite simply miss Jesus, after spending thousands of years in his presence?

Well, we'll never know on this side of eternity.  However, we know this:  Gabriel is important to the Christmas story because he was chosen to perform the most sacred of tasks - to deliver the Good News to Mary. He was able to tell her not just about the coming Messiah, but the Messiah he already knew.

Think about this:  when he told Mary that she would give birth to a son, and call him Jesus, and "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High" . . . Gabriel already knew Jesus, knew him just like that.

Yes, Gabriel is an important part of the Christmas story.  Not only did he get to deliver this beautiful, eternity-changing, earth-shattering message . . . but he got to talk about the Jesus he already knew.  The one who is - who always was - great.  The Son of God.

The Fourth Person of Christmas is Mary

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26-27

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is certainly important to the Christmas story!  We are actually going to look at her twice this month:  today, as a young, virgin girl; and in a couple of weeks as a pregnant, weary traveler.

Today, let's think about the miracle of a young girl's obedience to a future that, if she agreed, would be plagued by scandal.

Although some believe in the Immaculate Conception - that Mary herself was sinless, or she would not have been able to "house" the Christ - there is no biblical evidence of that theory.  The miracle really comes when we look at Mary as who she really was - a teenage girl, engaged to be married, probably dreaming and making plans for her future.  She would have still been living with her parents, and in all likelihood, that is where the angel Gabriel came to meet her:

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

That Mary found favor with God did not mean she was without sin; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David - they all found favor with God, and yet were certainly not sinless.

So . . .
What could it mean, that God found favor with her? 
What could it mean, that she would have a baby before she was married?
What could it mean, to her and her family, to Joseph and his family?

Well, it probably meant heartache.  We don't know if Mary immediately understood that implications of all of this.  But we do know that her first reaction was not doubt, distrust, or demand.  Her first reaction was a beautiful:  "I am the Lord's servant.  May your word to me be fulfilled." 

How many of us wise, older women would have an immediate reaction of obedience? 
How many of us who know and study scripture would believe that God would do something so . . . crazy?
How many of us would choose trust instead of doubt?

The angel promises Mary many things - that her son's name would be Jesus; that he would rule on Jacob's throne forever; that she will conceive through the Holy Spirit.  He tells her that her very own cousin, Elizabeth - who was well past the age of childbearing - that she herself was pregnant.

This message from God, delivered by Gabriel, is full of hope and promise, and yet Mary surely understood - even if not immediately - that it was also a message of heartache and despair.  She surely realized at some point that she would be shunned.  She surely wondered how Joseph would react, if he would believe her, what he would do.

Yet we find none of those feelings in her song at the end of Luke 1.  After she goes to see Elizabeth, Mary sings the most beautiful song - some of the most poignant and moving words in the Bible, in all of history:

 “My soul glorifies the Lord
 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
   of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
   holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
   from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
   he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
   but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
   but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
   remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
   just as he promised our ancestors.”

 This teenager girl, about to become mother of the Messiah.    This Jewish girl, about to obey to see the whole world saved.  This virgin girl, about to become pregnant.  That's impossible, except through the Spirit of God. 

Mary is important to the Christmas story, because - taking all the miracles out of the equation - her obedience to a questionable future is the promise of Christmas.  She believed that no matter what happened, her God, who had performed mighty deeds, brought down rulers, helped Israel, remembered Abraham . . . she believed that He would be with her, too.

And He was.  Immanuel.  God with us.

The Third Person of Christmas is Isaiah

Isaiah was called as a prophet to the nation of Judah and to Jerusalem during the reigns of King Uzziah, King Jotham, King Ahaz, and King Hezekiah.  His writings were produced between the years of 740 - 680 BC.  His name means "The Lord is Salvation."  How fitting for God to choose this man, this prophet, to foretell so much about the coming of Christ.

Isaiah was special, chosen by God to tell His chosen people of His son.  And if the people had been listening to Isaiah, they would have easily recognized Christ when He came.  They could have rejoiced that He would be born of a virgin, Isaiah 7:14; that He would come from the house of Judah, Isaiah 37:31; that He would be from the house of David, Isaiah 16:5; that He would be from Nazareth, Isaiah 9:1-2.

Isaiah gave us these words:  For unto us a child is born, unto a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever, Isaiah 9:6-7.

Those words are the epitome of Christmas.  Those words are what we celebrate.  Those words are what give something called a "holiday" a meaning beyond our wildest dreams.

Because those words give us hope.  Hope for a future, for peace.  Hope for eternity.  Hope for a God who is with us forever.


There cannot be a Christmas story without Isaiah.  Because His prophecies were the map for God's plan.  God didn't just spring a Messiah on His people, on the world.  It was His plan from the beginning.

You know, the Jews of Jesus' time knew the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the others.  They knew that the Messiah was to come from the house of David, and would offer them hope and salvation. 

Unfortunately, they ignored other prophecies.  They were waiting for a political and military hero, one who would free them from Roman rule, expunge them of their enemies, and restore them to a great nation.  Their way.

They were not waiting for God's son.
They were not waiting for Jesus.

If they had really read Isaiah's words, really inspected his prophecies, they would have seen these words from chapter 53:  "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted,yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand."

Isaiah is important to the Christmas story, because hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, before His ministry and His teaching, before the controversy, before He was betrayed and handed over - Isaiah told us all about it.  From His virgin birth, to the day of His death, Isaiah told it all. 

God used Isaiah to prepare the hearts of men for the Christmas story.  And He uses him today, in our lives, to remind us of His great plan, all along.

The Second Person of Christmas is David

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

This is a record of the family line of Jesus Christ. He is the son of David.  Matthew 1:1


We all know who David was.  He was a conqueror, a king, a man after God's own heart.  He was a songwriter, a shepherd, a best friend.  He was an adulterer, a murderer, a fallen hero.  He was the best.  He was the worst.

You know, God loves order.  Look at the end of chapter 1 of Matthew:  "So there were 14 generations from Abraham to David. There were 14 from David until the Jewish people were forced to go away to Babylon. And there were 14 from that time to the Christ."   God has ordained the days - not just the days, but the generations - of man from beginning to end.

But why was it important to God that Jesus come from the lineage of David?

You know, I used to think that God was chaotic.  In some ways, I still do.  By that, I mean that God is always moving, always swirling, always working.  Yet, when God looks at the world, at the cosmos, at His creation, He doesn't see chaos.  He sees order - His perfect plan.

His perfect plan was that Jesus and David be the same blood.  For Jesus to claim the throne as King of the Jews, He needed to come from a royal line.  Mary and Joseph both were direct descendants of David; through Mary, who shared the blood of David with Jesus, He was a rightful heir.  Through Joseph, who was not Jesus' blood, He had a legal inheritance as the son of David.

But again, why David?  Why this king?  Why this time?

Is David a hero or a villain of his own life story?  The best answer is, both.  He is a perfect king from which Jesus' blood lines should be drawn, because, in spite of his sin and shortcomings, he kept coming back to God.

When confronted with his sin, he didn't deny.  He accepted.  He repented.  He renewed.  He led God's people through times of war and peace, prosperity and adversity.  He always led with a knowledge and sense that they were God's chosen people.  He never turned his back, or the back of his nation, away from God, even when he did sin.

Without David, there would be no Christ.  In the end, if you ask me why, my answer must be - I don't know.  I don't know why God ordained it this way.  I just know that He did.

David is important to the Christmas story, because his life is another reminder that God had this plan all along.  When David was born, when he killed Goliath, when he ran from Saul, when he took the throne as King of Israel, when he saw Bathsheba for the first time, when he had her husband killed, when he lost his son, when he . . . when he did everything . . . he was part of God's plan all along.

The good and the bad.  The beautiful and the ugly.  The sin and the righteousness.

All part of God's plan.  To bring to the world redemption of sin - the Messiah . . . from the House of David.

The First Person of Christmas is God

From December 1 to the 25, I am going to write about the people of Christmas - 25 "characters" who shaped the Christmas story.

We begin with God.  God the Father, the one who wrote this story in the first place.

It's so hard to imagine that bringing a baby to a poor couple, impregnating an unwed teenager, telling dirty shepherds before kings and politicos - it's hard to believe that was God's plan.

But it was.  All along.

Sometimes we belittle the nativity story by thinking that Mary and Joseph happened to go to Bethlehem, that they were struck with some kind of curse by giving birth to the Savior in a stinky stable.  We belittle the miracle when we believe it was an accident, or bad luck of some kind.

We must know, and believe, that the whole of the story was God's plan from the beginning.  From the beginning - from before Isaiah, David, Abraham, even Adam.  From before the creation of Genesis, God was planning on proving his redemptive, everlasting love for us.


Did you catch that?  God - the One who spoke, and stars filled the sky, animals roamed the earth - the One who literally breathed life into the nostrils of His created one - this God has always known that He would prove Himself to us.

He, who had nothing to prove.  He, who could have spoken His way into our hearts without our consent.  He, who gave us our very lives.

From the beginning of creation He has been pointing mankind to the coming Messiah.  Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He began the lineage that would one day house the Savior. In Genesis 22, God tells Abraham that "all nations will be blessed through you."  That means us.  You and me.  Because God was going to use Abraham's lineage to bring a Savior to the whole world.

God has been proving His love to us from the beginning of His story, from the beginning of His love letter to us.  From every thought and step that went into creating the tabernacle, to the priestly garments, to the Passover Festival - every last detail points to Christ.  Through the life of King David, through the prophets, even through the 400 years of silence from the Old Testament to the New - God has been telling us.  Every detail points to Christ. 

Every. Last. Detail.  Then, and now.  Every detail He has planned for your life is designed to show you His love for you.  Everything is about Him.


God is the First Person of Christmas, because the whole story is about His love for us.  And that's the message of Christmas.

Be Glad for Weakness

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31

I've been involved in several discussions lately regarding our weaknesses; the phrase, "we all have our issues" has come up more than once.

Sometimes we get down on ourselves for our weaknesses, our faults. Or we pretend like we don't have any - like we are the only perfect one on earth!

But is that scriptural?  Is that what God wants from us, to pretend?  Doesn't He call us to an authentic faith, an authentic life, where we live together, harmoniously, warts and all?

God doesn't want us to pretend to be perfect or strong.  It's in our weakness that He renews us.  It's in our faults that He comes shining through.  It's in our issues that He perfects us.

Don't try to pretend you're good at everything.  Don't waste your time acting like you don't have any problems or issues.  Celebrate your shortcomings, because that is where God can really shine through!