"This child is destined to cause the falling and rising again of many in Israel, and to be a si

God showed himself in Mary and Joseph's child, and people did not like what they saw. They spoke out against him. Such was the power of Christ's persona. Unwittingly, involuntarily, their unwelcoming and antagonistic stance regarding Jesus, revealed their attitude to God. We do not appreciate our own native hostility to God and his goodness, until we come to Jesus. At his feet we must fall, in order to rise again.