Christmas Greetings from ELCIC Nat'l Bishop Ray Schultz

CHRISTMAS GREETING FROM NATIONAL BISHOP RAYMOND SCHULTZ

Kelly Fryer wrote in
Reclaiming the
"L" Word that a core principle of Lutheran theology is the
statement: God
always comes down.

Whatever we may think of humanity, God created us out of
unconditional love
and continues to live with us out of that attitude. This is
not some syrupy
sentiment; God, by character, is love. To desire communion
with us is part
of God's very nature.

God wants and chooses to live with us, in our world of time
and space, amid
our sin and error, accepting the necessity of our deaths
and adapting to
our changing moods. This is such an essential attitude on
God's part, that
God deems it worth dying for and did so. When one considers
the risks
involved in first-century pregnancies, the very act of
choosing to start
from the womb and live outward from there was an incredible
act of
vulnerability.

The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is not the beginning of the
story-the
Exodus is-but it is the beginning of the core event for us.
Everything else
in the scriptures is seen in a new way because of this.
Every person is
seen as a new person because of this.

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom God favors!"

May the gracious love of God, revealed in Bethlehem and
expressed most
deeply on the cross, encourage you, fill you with joy, and
call you forward
into the future with Christ.

Raymond L. Schultz, National Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada