Visions of His glory
Posted on December 12, 2014 by
Mark Muehl
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News and Events
What did Mary see? An angel visiting at her front door. A bustling town so busy that there were no rooms at the inn. A barn full of animals. Excited shepherds worshipping her firstborn son and telling tales of angel choruses. The mother of our Lord saw a lot, and Luke says, "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."What are you seeing this Christmas? The joy of sharing Christmas programs and student-led Christmas services are highlights of Lutheran-school calendars. My wife and I include within our Christmas traditions Lessons and Carols at Concordia University Chicago (last weekend) and Christmas at the Embassy, which is presented by the Concordia Lutheran High School music department. (It's this Sunday at 4 p.m.--do you have your tickets?) Each of these events beautifully share the Christmas story and seem to create a connection with all who attend.Why is it that Christmas tugs at our hearts? We seem to connect with this message. No doubt much of the tug is its "Immanuel" message (God with us). The reality of God in human form, the Creator walking with His creation--it's "a great and mighty wonder" that God comes to us so uniquely.But I also wonder if the love for Christmas is also a matter of our using the full wealth of human senses to share the story--and do it better at Christmas than any other event of the Church.Consider the fact that most people are visual learners, and when words are connected with images, learning is maximized (Gwen C. Nugent's article "Pictures, audio, and print: symbolic representation and effect on learning" published in Educational Technology Research and Development, Volume 30, Number 3 (1982), 163-174).