I'd like for us to look at a passage out of Matthew chapter one, the words of the angel to

Joseph in verses 20 and 21. We're going to read the passage, I'm going to say a prayer, and then we'll get to work.

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the

Holy Spirit and she will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people

from their sins. Have mercy, oh, upon our teacher today. His sins are many. Grant that we might see Jesus, just Jesus, through Christ we pray, and all the church said.

Well I tried to blame my behavior on the holiday traffic.

It was the day after Thanksgiving that busy Friday and the shoppers had turned the thoroughfares into controlled chaos.

I tried to blame my behavior on my state of mind.

We had spent the day planning a funeral for my ever weakening mother-in-law. In fact, I was driving

the car leaving the cemetery. I tried to blame my... the made by the teenager. The green turn arrow had given me permission to make a right turn

onto the boulevard. The teenager made an unexpected hairpin surprise, and did I mention

illegal, you turn around the median cutting right in front of me. We nearly shared paint.

I honked at him. And I confess, it wasn't one of those polite, tap, this is me over

here, type honks. It was more of a honk, you see what you almost did?

He drove a low riding exhaust puffing loud jalapii-lopi that dated back to the 1980s. It needed a bitter muffler and it needed a more polite passenger because I noticed that out of the

passenger side of the car after I honked and arm came out the window.

And he waved at me with one finger.

I sped up.

I sped up.

Oh. up. Thanks to a stoplight within moments I was side by side with a perpetrator.

My driver's side was just a few feet from the passenger side and so I lowered my window. I looked down on him, literally and metaphorically.

And he looked up at me.

...