December 1, 2023

Dear Friends,

Today is December 1st, the beginning of my favorite month of the year. As the next few weeks go by, you are likely to hear people grumble that Christmas should be more spiritual. To these folks I encourage you to reply, “bah, humbug.” Christmas, in fact, celebrates the material order. The doctrine of the Incarnation proclaims that God, who is Spirit, took on flesh and blood for us and for our salvation. Jesus blessed bread and wine, made sacred use of boats and mud, and probably worked in his father’s carpentry shop using wood and tools. So from a theological standpoint, take it with a grain of salt (salt being another participant in the material order) when people try to over-spiritualize the Christian faith. God declared the creation good.