Tell BOTH Christmas Stories This Year | Visual Resources to Help You
Matthew and Luke each tell a very different version of Jesus’ birth. This year the lectionaries let us tell each of them in a special way. Here are some visual resources and commentary to help you preach and teach these important stories.
Matthew tells a story about how a king was born that would save Israel. King Jesus, Immanuel, is set in contrast to the false king, Herod, and legitimized by the geneaology of David and the visitation of the Magi from the East. The rest of Matthew’s stories tells us how the kingdom of God dismantles oppressive power structures and brings actual peace and thriving for all people.
Luke tells the story of how God became flesh in and among the lowest of the low. Luke’s story is one in which the Holy Spirit fills people of the lowest ranks in that context–women, children, the poor, the sick, the gentiles–and works through them to bring down oppressive power structures and bring peace and hope to the whole world.
