In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
~ Luke 2:1-20
Christmas Morning Prayer
The day of joy returns, Father in Heaven, and crowns another year with peace and good will.
Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wisemen.
Close the doors of hate and open the doors of love all over the world…
Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil, by the blessing that Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.
May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our bed with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake. Amen
"At Christmas Eternity Is Making A New Start"
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. AmenAt Christmas eternity is making a new start--strength to the weak, bread for us, God becomes human.
Some reflections on the meaning of Christmas--
Nobody was excluded from the crib. Like me, you were late in coming...Yet you came and were not turned away. You too found room before the manger. Jesus is the patron of all latecomers; let these ones not be forgotten before the throne of God. Outsiders and latecomers, Jesus has room for all. Ox and donkey, shepherds and magi.
The incarnation means that in Christ God has become more accessible to us. In Christ God loves us with a human heart, and God’s power to save and heal is in human form. This is the meaning of Christmas: God bonded with us forever, love laid in the crib and later upon the Cross.
The birth of God as man means that man is not his own master, and that he cannot construct his own destiny; he must continually come to grips with his own creaturliness, continually experience his own weakness, continually rising above challenges, entrusting oneself God.
Let Christmas push you back into the human race.
For through the incarnation, God embraced not only what is agreeable in the world, but also whatever is weak and imperfect in our lives. He has taken upon himself everything that is marked by sin, but there is no sin in him.
Jesus came into a world ruled by the military might of the Roman Empire; he was born to a people who had been conquered and were being oppressed by their conquerors. Yet, at the time of Caesar Augustus, the empire enjoyed a facade of peace.
However, the Peace announced by the angels by the birth of Jesus was a new and lasting true peace that was now available to all who seek it, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
The continual need to allow Jesus to save us by his intervention into our lives.
Will God come and save us from our materialism, from our grief, from our brokenness? From my loneliness? From our stress? From my addiction? My burden?
Jesus shares our ups and downs of human existence, and he gives us a share in his divine life, brings brightness and hope into our hearts, and gives us confidence of our future.
She gave birth to her firstborn. The word firstborn indicates that Mary had no children prior to Jesus; it does not imply that she had children after him. For example, there are ancient grave markers for Jewish women in that area who died during child birth which read, “In the pains of giving birth to a firstborn child, fate brought me to the end of my life.” So, firstborn is a religious legal title which simply means that the child has privileges as specified in Deut. 21:5 and the child must be consecrated to the Lord in Exodus 13:2 and Numbers 18:15. The fact that Mary had no other children after Jesus stems from her being a perpetual Virgin.
However, we are called to be firstborn too. The Bible distinguishes between those who enter Heaven straightaway, calling them "the church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:23), and those who enter after having undergone a purgation, calling them "the spirits of the just made perfect." (Heb. 12:23).
This encourages us to keep on playing our part in the task of completing the Saviors work of bringing justice and salivation into the world. Like the shepherds and magi who had a journey to make known the truth.
O Come let us adore Him.
Silent night. Holy Night.
The ego gets what it wants with words.
The soul finds what it needs in silence.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
~ Numbers 6:22-27
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New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.
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