CHRISTMAS IN COPPERHILL The star is atop cemetery hill overlooking Copperhill. The photo was taken at night, of course, from in front of the priest's house while looking West past the church on the left and the Copperhill City Hall, the lighted building on the right. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord." —Luke 2:11 To appreciate the words of the angel at least two things are necessary: an understanding of why there was need of a savior and supernatural faith. But it is impossible to understand the need of a savior unless we first understand that at the dawn of creation something terrible happened that threatened to alter the destiny of mankind and the fate of the world. Adam and Eve, our first parents committed sin. Before their fall they had been endowed with the preternatural gifts of immortality, impassibility , integrity, and divine grace. Immortality preserved them from death. Impassibility preserved them from suffering. Integrity enabled them to function rationally as human beings should; that is, their intellects controlled their passions, emotions, and appetites. Because they sinned they lost all these great gifts, not only for themselves but for their progeny to the end of time. The nature of sin is a malicious act of a finite human being against the all-good infinite God. The debt of sin is so great that no man, or any number of men, could ever repay it. Doomed to misery and death in this world and everlasting despair in the world to come, man's only hope was and still is the goodness and mercy of God. In His goodness and mercy God promised to send a redeemer, someone capable of saving mankind from sin and death and eventually restore the world to its pristine condition. The voice of the herald angel signaled the arrival of that One anointed by God. All those who have faith in God and the Messiah have reason to be filled with great joy. The birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem nearly 2000 years ago changed the world from a prison where the entire human race was under sentence of eternal damnation to a holding place for pilgrims on their way to eternal life in heaven—their true home. May this good news bring you great joy this Christmas day and may it remain with you always.