Photo from St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Saratoga Springs, NY. Used by permission.

Behold, the Lord has proclaimed
to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion,
“Behold, your salvation comes;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.”
And they shall be called The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the Lord;
and you shall be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
(Isaiah 62:11-12 ESV)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The celebration of Jesus birth is joyous for us because of that which Jesus has done, is doing, and will do for us. In Christ, the words recorded by Isaiah are fulfilled: “Behold, your salvation comes….”

This salvation is the Word who becomes flesh and dwells among us in Jesus, who suffered and died on the cross for our sin and rose from the dead so that we may live with Him. Baptized into His death and resurrection and fed His Body and Blood at every Holy Eucharist, we live each day as “The Holy People,” “The Redeemed of the Lord,” “Sought Out,” and “A City Not Forsaken.”

Proclaimed to the end of the earth, we receive this ChristMass gift at every Divine Service; it is our honor to bring those ChristMass gifts to others so that they may know that the Lord brings salvation to them as well. We are blessed to do this by “Making Disciples for Life” as we are “Engaging the World with the Gospel of Hope.”

A blessed and merry ChristMass to you.

You remain in my prayers.

The blessing of God almighty be upon you and remain with you always—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Peace, hope and love in Christ Jesus, to whom be all the glory,

Bishop Taylor