..[Jesus of Nazareth] was not a kind of demon pretending to be human; he was in every respect a genuine living man. He was not merely a man so good as to be “like God”–he was God.

Now, this is not just a pious commonplace: it is not a commonplace at all. For what it means is this, among other things: that for whatever reason God chose to make man as he is limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death he [God] had the honesty and courage to take his own medicine. Whatever game he is playing with his creation, he has kept his own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that he has not exacted from himself. He has himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When he was a man, he played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.

—Creed or Chaos? (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company,1949), page 4 (with special thanks to blog reader and friend WW)

The Nativity #Nativity
BL Yates Thompson 2; The Ottobeuren Collectar'; Germany, S. (Ottobeuren); 12th century; f.57v@BLMedieval pic.twitter.com/mrNGISDFqq

— Ennius (@red_loeb) December 24, 2025

Lyrics:

Good people all, this Christmas time
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending his beloved son
With Mary holy we should pray
To God with love this Christmas Day
In Bethlehem upon that morn
There was a blessed Messiah born
Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep
To whom God’s angels did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear
‘Prepare and go, ‘ the angels said
‘To Bethlehem, be not afraid
For there you’ll find, this happy morn
A princely babe, sweet Jesus born
With thankful heart and joyful mind
The shepherds went, this babe to find
And as God’s angel had foretold
They did our saviour Christ behold
Within a manger he was laid
And by his side the virgin maid
Attending on the Lord of life
Who came on earth to end all strife
Good people all, this Christmas time
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending his beloved Son
With Mary holy we should pray
To God with love this Christmas day
In Bethlehem upon that morn
There was a blessed Messiah born

The crucial significance of the cradle at Bethlehem lies in its place in the sequence of steps down that led the Son of God to the cross of Calvary, and we do not understand it till we see it in this context…the taking of manhood by the Son is set before us in a way which shows us how we should ever view it–not simply as a marvel of nature, but rather as a wonder of grace.

–J. I. Packer, Knowing God, (Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press; 20th Anniversary ed.), p.42

Hark the Herald Angels sing glory to the new-born King; pray for peace on earth and goodwill to all.

Christmas Blessings from all at York Minster. pic.twitter.com/bRvVNdnTkD

— York Minster (@York_Minster) December 25, 2025

26 Dec: The feast of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr remembered for his charity, is also called Boxing Day, from the custom of giving alms or gift boxes to the poor and to workers in thanks. In the “Calendar of Flowers,” purple heather is his dedicated flower. #BoxingDay pic.twitter.com/6aKf4IcGUA

— VenetiaJane's Garden (@VenetiaJane) December 25, 2025

Grant, O Lord, that in all our sufferings here upon earth, for the testimony of thy truth, we may steadfastly look up to heaven, and by faith behold the glory that shall be revealed; and, being filled with the Holy Ghost, may learn to love and bless our persecutors by the example of thy first martyr, Saint Stephen, who prayed for his murderers to thee, O blessed Jesus, who standest at the right hand of God to succour all those that suffer for thee, our only mediator and advocate. Amen.

Today's the feast of St Stephen, 1st Century deacon and protomartyr whose death is described in the Acts of the Apostles. On the 15th Century screen at Ludham, Norfolk he holds stones, the instrument of his martyrdom. pic.twitter.com/9n7fD9906S

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) December 26, 2025

Grant us, O God, such love and wonder that, with humble shepherds, wise men and pilgrims unknown, we may come and adore the holy Babe, the heavenly King, and with our gifts worship and serve him, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas! “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it” (John 1:3-5)

Image: Georges de la Tour, The New-Born, c. 1645. pic.twitter.com/YGHrxB95vF

— Kenneth Kovacs (@KenKovacs) December 25, 2025

Blessed be the Lord!
for he has heard the voice of my supplications.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

–Psalm 28:6-7

Guten Morgen, ich wünsche Euch allen einen schönen 2. Weihnachtsfeiertag!
So schön kann Winter sein, Tyssaer Wände, letzte Woche. pic.twitter.com/STKjJDFoka

— Bettina (@c17791ef97be4cc) December 26, 2025