Much of the sermon, “For Love’s Sake,” sought to explore what the enormous human-led efforts to celebrate Christmas are really about. During Christmas, Budde said, people seek to insert themselves into a “wondrous story” — the Christmas narrative. In doing that, she said, they glimpse the presence of God, through the extra kindnesses, forgiveness, generosity, grace and peace that people extend during Christmastime."You only have to read the first sentence of the story to know that there are deep social implications to it, should we place ourselves in this story. It begins with an emperor who could move people about at will. And so two people forced to obey the emperor’s edict set out on a long journey on the last month of the young woman’s pregnancy. And they were denied a place of comfort in her greatest hour of need.

And it wouldn’t be long before they would be forced to flee again, this time to find refuge from violence in another country. It’s right there. It’s in the text. It’s in the story.Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde Washington National Cathedral WP

The Postal Worker’s Christmas My grandfather was part of a long tradition of postal workers who sacrificed Christmas Eve with their families to deliver holiday packages. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/opinion/trump-postal-service.html