This time of year as we talk about the birth of Christ I am always struck by the multitude of facets to the story.  The incarnation of Christ was and is so significant that the people, places and the events,  surrounding his birth are given a fair bit of attention.  We have multiple accounts bringing with them a different focus.  You have different characters who bring different perspectives.  It is rich with details and dripping with importance.  Still it is a story often told (at least once a year as it turns out) so it can become easy to allow it to loose focus and become as blurry as it is familiar. Every year while retelling the story I try to bring out something new that maybe you have never seen before.  One of the things that stood out to me this year was how the entire story is infused with Grace

Infused might be a curious word to describe it but I think it fits.  To infuse something is to allow something to completely soak into it. Like the hot water is infused with tea or the air is infused with the aroma of Cinnamon.  It is a bit more subtle than to overwhelm and yet it completely permeates.  I think that describes the aroma of grace on this story.  It is not blatant or overbearing.  Like the characters of Joseph and Mary, it is somewhat quiet and humble.  Yet, mixed through all of it we find grace.

In this weeks sermon I hope to draw out for you examples of that grace, and how it impacts us.  But in a bit of preparation read the story again and purposefully look for grace, see if you don’t find it infused into all of it.

See you at church,

Pastor Chris.