Everything about our life
begins with this story:
THE CHRISTMAS STORY
Luke 1:26-44
In the sixth month, God
sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a
town in Galilee, to a virgin
pledged to be married to a man named
Joseph, a descendant of
David. The virgin's name was Mary.
The angel went to her and
said, "Greetings, you who are highly
favored! The Lord is with
you."
Mary was greatly troubled
at his words and wondered what kind of
greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her, "Do not be
afraid, Mary, you have found
favor with God. You will be with
child and give birth to
a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus. He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most
High. The Lord God will
give him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the
house of Jacob forever; his kingdom
will never end."
"How will this be," Mary
asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will
overshadow you. So the holy one to be
born will be called the
Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative
is going to have a child
in her old age, and she who was said to
be barren is in her sixth
month. For nothing is impossible with
God."
"I am the Lord's servant,"
Mary answered. "May it be to me as you
have said." Then the angel
left her.
At that time Mary got ready
and hurried to a town in the hill
country of Judea,where she
entered Zechariah's home and greeted
Elizabeth. When Elizabeth
heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped
in her womb, and Elizabeth
was filled with the Holy Spirit.
In a loud voice she exclaimed:
"Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the child you
will bear!But why am I so favored, that
the mother of my Lord should
come to me? As soon as the sound of
your greeting reached my
ears, the baby in my womb leaped for
joy.
Luke 1:46-56
And Mary said: "My soul
glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior, for he
has been mindful of the humble state of
his servant. From now on
all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done
great things for me-- holy is his
name. His mercy extends to
those who fear him, from generation to
generation. He has performed
mighty deeds with his arm; he has
scattered those who are
proud in their inmost thoughts. He has
brought down rulers from
their thrones but has lifted up the
humble. He has filled the
hungry with good things but has sent
the rich away empty. He
has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants
forever, even as he said
to our fathers."
Mary stayed with Elizabeth
for about three months and then
returned home.
Luke 2:1-20
In those days Caesar Augustus
issued a decree that a census
should be taken of the entire
Roman world. (This was the first
census that took place while
Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
And everyone went to his
own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from
the town of Nazareth in Galilee to
Judea, to Bethlehem the
town of David, because he belonged to the
house and line of David.
He went there to register with Mary, who
was pledged to be married
to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the
time came for the baby to be born,
and she gave birth to her
firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in
cloths and placed him in
a manger, because there was no room for
them in the inn.
And there were shepherds
living out in the fields nearby, keeping
watch over their flocks
at night. An angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them, and they
were terrified.
But the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good
news of great joy that will
be for all the people. Today in the
town of David a Savior has
been born to you; he is Christ the
Lord. This will be a sign
to you: You will find a baby wrapped in
cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company
of the heavenly host appeared with the
angel, praising God and
saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace to men on
whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left
them and gone into heaven, the shepherds
said to one another, "Let's
go to Bethlehem and see this thing
that has happened, which
the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and
found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who
was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the
word concerning what had
been told them about this child, and all
who heard it were amazed
at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all
these things and pondered them in her
heart.
The shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the
things they had heard and
seen, which were just as they had been
told.
