At Christmas, we celebrate something deeply human and beautifully divine. We remember a young family: tired, displaced, and with nowhere to stay. Mary, Joseph, and the newborn Jesus began life as refugees. Yet from such humble beginnings, God’s love entered our world in the most surprising way.
Jesus came to bring good news to those who struggle, sight to those who cannot see, and healing to those who are broken. He came to say that God’s Kingdom belongs to the poor, the peacemakers, the merciful, and those who long for justice. He challenged hypocrisy and showed us that power and privilege are not the measure of greatness; love is.
This young man, Jesus, was executed on a cross by the empire, but on the third day he rose again. In his rising, a new world began — a new humanity shaped by love, kindness, hope, and truth. That is what we celebrate at Christmas: the birth of the one who changed everything.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to tell the poor the good news. He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the wounded victims free, to announce the year of God’s special favour.” Luke 4.18–19 (N.T. for Everyone, 3rd ed.)
“He is the image of God, the invisible one, the firstborn of all creation… He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything he might be supreme.” Colossians 1.15,18 (N.T. for Everyone, 3rd ed.)
This Christmas, why don’t you join us at Castle Street Church as we celebrate the good news of Jesus: the hope of the world and the light in our dark times.
Rev. Dráusio Gonçalves