Advent - Day 4 - Matthew 1:21

Yesterday I received my first Christmas card in the post.  In of itself that was nice although it did make me suddenly panic that I needed to do my Christmas cards and send them very soon. 

On the envelope I noticed the stamp.  It had a picture of an angel and the text Matthew 1:21.  Looking up this passage in the Bible it's where an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and says "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."

I'm sure that some would preach an entire sermon on that single verse, but the thing that struck me as I was stopping and thinking today was about how non-secular a statement that was to put on a stamp.  Apparently the Royal Mail alternates each year between secular and non-secular themes. It's refreshing in this age of political correctness and attempts to please everyone that such strong messages about what the Christmas story was actually about when it started can still be maintained.

It's strange being by myself this advent.  Many of my friends are busy talking about Christmas and putting up their trees and decorating their houses but my heart is just not in it at present.  Their focus is on having a special time in this cold and dark part of the year and I certainly can't blame them for that.  With a half painted house and trying to keep myself busy as much as possible the thought of getting the decorations that Niki and I used to share out of the loft and putting them up in the house isn't welcoming. I think it'd be too painful.  My advent this year is therefore proving to be fairly frugal and bare, but structured in that I'm enjoying taking time out to think each day.