This past Saturday, December 28, was “Good Riddance Day.”  Did you know that?  Good Riddance Day is observed each December 28 in Times Square in New York City.  Each year people are invited to write down mistakes and regrets from the year and then these mistakes and regrets are eliminated in some creative way.  One year they were written down on paper and the paper was shredded in a huge shredder.  One year the paper was burned.  This year they were written on a white board and erased.

Do you like a good mystery? Many people do. They like to read “mystery novels.” Or they like to watch “mystery” movies. To us, the concept of mystery suggests something unknown. This comes out in the way we say we don’t know the answer to something. We sometimes say, “It’s a mystery to me.” The story of Christmas is a good mystery. Let me explain.

You have likely all seen this before. People are gathered around opening gifts at Christmas. There is that person frantically tearing paper off a package. They open the box and then there is a pause…and a gasp! And then they say, “For me?!” The answer is, “Of course it’s for you! The little tag on the present had your name on it!”

St. Luke is an excellent historian.  He even begins the gospel that bears his name by writing:  Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,  just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.  With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4)  He was a meticulous researcher, wanting to be sure he got everything right.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving once again this year, how grateful are you?  If I asked you to rank your level of thankfulness on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, what number would you pick?  Are you on the lower end?  A 3 or 4?  You’re grateful, but you’ve had a rough year financially or physically or personally?  Are you on the upper end?  A 7 or an 8?  The investments did better than expected and your cholesterol is down?