Christmas is a celebration steeped in paradox. We celebrate a Sovereign who chooses to be a subject, a Prince who dons the trappings of a peasant, a spotless Lamb who possesses the lineage of a Lion, a birth that will extinguish death and ultimately a death that will offer everlasting life. It is a spectacular story, it is an irrefutable reality. It is a love story beyond imagination. The great mystery of the incarnation is the fact that Jesus chose to come. It was the initiative of love conceived in the heart of the Father, born in the person of the Christ Child and revealed to us through His Spirit. Although the coming of the Messiah went unnoticed by the world He came to save, it was heralded by heaven's angels. On the evening of the incarnation, the lowly Judean hillside radiated with the glow of Shekinah glory. It was a night of miraculous transformation. A host of angels became a choir, a band of lowly shepherds were presented to Royalty, a trio of kings became seekers of truth, a star became a beacon, a stable became a shrine, a manger became a throne, a virgin became a mother and God became a child. Gloria in Excelsis Deo!