1) Bithrite: Jesus

 "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”   Matthew 1:21

Most people around the world do not know the gender of their unborn baby,  Here is a baby who from the outset has a clear prophecy.  This is important because the step-father must understand what is going on. His role is vital.  

Jesus is a name apparently understood in Hebrew and other cultures, to mean healer, or deliverer/rescuer.

What do we need in this present age?  We have threats all around us.  Terrible wars in Ukraine and Palestine.  The threat of sea level rise.  extinction of many fragile plant and bird species. Disease, and nuclear proliferation,  Do we need a rescuer?  

I understand why many looked to Jesus to save them from their immediate crisis. But Jesus offered rescue from more fundamental problems, namely the problem of relationship with the creator, and from that the link to all things.  Sin, or as Francis Spufford put it, HPtFtu, 'the human propensity to fuck things up" is an old and dusty word.  Modern terms might be:- self destruction, evil motivations, harming, hurting, destroying.  As I try to define sin, I understand why the word persists.

PRAYER:  24 more days to Christmas.  We long for your second coming.