For months now, we've heard Mark's main question, “Who is this?!" And this week we finally come to the turning point of this Gospel. Peter answers this main question correctly, but when Jesus boldly states what he came to do, Peter cannot stomach it. Peter often gets mocked for this, but Christmas exposes that we have the same revulsion. We think, “Can't we just talk about the beautiful baby without mentioning something as ugly as death?" But then we read what Simeon says. And Herod. And now, Jesus. Christmas is not Easter, so why is acknowledging death a necessary part of the biblical celebration of Christmas? Let's talk about why our Christmas joy is incomplete until we see that he was “Born To Die” (Mark 8:27-9:1).
