I slept in, and went to Knox this morning. One of the commentsin the message was that if we ignore the pain and suffering at (what the kitsch song calls “The most wonderful time of the year”) then we miss the point of the gospel, and we cheapen the gospel.

AMOS 6:4-7
4Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the stall;
5who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music;
6who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.

I have been trying to navigate my way around the difficulties within this time — as a solo Dad, seeing the relationships of my friends implode and reform, and knowing how much pain there is even in a rich country at this time.
There is a reason that the Pogues Christmas song is so popular. It speaks without sentiment. It reminds us of the lost and lonely as did the old carols. We see the Christmas season through a cultural filter of coca cola advertisement, Santa Parades, end of year prize-givings, carols, and a haze of carbohydrates and alcohol.

But that was not what it was like in the beginning.

LUKE 1:57-63
57Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

MARK 1:1-8
1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in he prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The gospel starts with prophecy — to Elisabeth, Mary and Zechariah — and moves rapidly to repentence.

Repentence. Because the Kingdom is at hand, and is with us. if we do not care for our nation and care for the lost, then we will be judged, and in that turmoil the elite will lose their luxury and be equal in their distress with the poor, and the twittering of the amateur improvising pretty music in their revels will give way.