Phantasmagorical

While reading a mystery by Elizabeth George, I noticed near the end she used phantasmagorical to describe the Detective Inspector's trip to find the woman he loved. Writers should not use words like that; they stop the reader and can distract them enough to lose the flow of the story. 

However, it was near the end and I was focusing on whether it would end "happily ever after." So I did not stop reading, but I did look it up in the dictionary. It means dreamlike, illusionary, or as an event swiftly changes; change the ph to an f and you'll recognize it as fantasy-like. 

Because it is Advent and I am contemplating the wonders of Christ's birth, I thought of Mary when the angel, Gabriel, told her that she was the chosen one to bear God's Son. I also thought of Joseph as Gabriel told him that Mary was telling him the truth; and of the old priest, Zechariah, when an angel told him that his barren wife Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, would bear a son. That son would be called John; he would prepare the way for Jesus' ministry including baptizing Jesus. 

Each event must have been phantasmagorical. If the foretold births had not taken place, Mary, Joseph, and Zechariah would have thought the angel was an illusion, a dream, a fantasy of the imagination. 

Gabriel and the angel, visiting the old priest, were messengers of God, who were preparing for God's mercy and love to be demonstrated through the birth and death of Jesus, God's only Son. A part of Himself had to come to earth for there is no sin in heaven... no death. He came to remove our separation from Him... to bring us back to Him, who created us. 

I love how Pastor Dr. Wilson* wrote it:

 God’s purpose in Christmas 

is to begin his mission 

to draw all mankind

     to himself through Christ.

🎵 Amazing love, how can it be ...🎵

Selah- 

Shalom, Connie

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*Wilson, Ralph F.. 28 Advent Scriptures: Readings and Resources for the Christmas Season (p. 106). JesusWalk Publications. Kindle Edition.