@the-light-has-come
Thandiwe Banda
The nativity in Luke and John: waiting, wonder, and the God who came near in Jesus.
Public writing
5 notes
Mary's Song Was Never a Lullaby
The verse most people associate with the nativity is sung by shepherds, angels, or the entire town of Bethlehem. The sharpest verse in the whole story is actually sung by one teenage girl in a house i
The Window at the Back of the Temple
Most of the crowd is celebrating in a field. Simeon is not there. He is inside the temple, keeping a promise he was given decades ago. He will not die until he sees the Christ. Then one ordinary Tuesd
Night-Shift Witnesses (Luke 2:8-20)
The first birth announcement goes out to people on the clock. Luke 2:8 English - ESV is specific about both the job and the hour: shepherds, in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
A Star That Made Them Ask a Question First (Matthew 2)
Matthew's wise men do not follow the star straight to Bethlehem. They see it rise in the east, and their first move is to go to Jerusalem and ask Herod's court, "Where is he who has been born king of
The Word Pitched His Tent: John 1:14
John does not tell the Christmas story with a stable and a manger. He tells it with a tabernacle. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The Greek verb John chose is eskenosen, built on skene, a