"The Christmas story is a pivotal chapter in this big and beautiful story that God is writing and slowly unfolding because in Luke's gospel, when the angel announced, 'Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord,' he was announcing the arrival of the Prince of Peace. He was announcing the partial fulfillment of Isaiah's 700 year old prophecy.

"Now, just so we're clear, and we keep these people in these story being human, I don't believe any character in the Christmas story comprehended the full gravity of what was happening. Their reactions—the prime characters in the Christmas story—were all over the map, just like our reactions are all over the map. Doubt, disbelief, fear, astonishment, joy, hope, worship, disturbed, confused. The array of their reactions suggests at least they realized something profound was happening. And it seems to me we sit on the opposite side. We run the risk of tempering and taming the Christmas story so it fits nicely under a snow globe."