EOF : Thank you for taking the time to talk to us about your new book , The Gospel of Christmas , Reflections for Advent . Why don ’ t we just jump straight in and you tell us a little bit about your book , The Gospel of Christmas and what you feel makes it unique .

KIRK : I think that when most people think of the word “ gospel ” they think of Jesus and resurrection and preaching the gospel and sometimes they are aware of the fact that the word gospel actually means “ good news .” It has always seemed strange to me that when preaching Jesus ’ death and resurrection , the resurrection is certainly good news , but the death part doesn ’ t seem like much good news . I have always been interested in the story of God becoming a human and , in fact , the first instance of the word gospel comes in the story of the birth with the angels preaching to the shepherds , “ good news of great joy .” I have always felt like this was the crux of my faith ; God becoming a human and dwelling among us and being with us .