ohn doesn’t open his gospel with a baby in a barn. It begins “In the beginning…” to take us back to Genesis 1, where God spoke the world into existence. That same Word, John says, became flesh in Jesus. Christmas is not just God showing up. Instead, it is God beginning the work of recreating the world and making all things new. In Jesus, the Creator doesn’t stay outside of our mess. He entered our mess, bore our sins, and created newness of life. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas.