December 25th
Daily Reading
Matthew 1:18-24
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.
Luke 2:1-18
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished.
(Readings taken from Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/ New Living Translation)
The Birth of Jesus - Rachael Foster
The King has arrived! God’s great plan to bring all things to right. The King, Jesus, the fulfilment of prophecy and God’s promises is finally here.
The accounts we read in Matthew and Luke’s gospels are striking in their simplicity.
In Luke’s account we read of an angel appearing to shepherds. The angel proclaims that this is the good news of great joy for all people!
Centuries of waiting has been fulfilled in the understated arrival of a baby who has been born, wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
God is setting all things to right. This baby is God’s son, Jesus. He is to be called Immanuel, ‘God with us.’ The king of kings has come as a small, vulnerable baby, to be with us.
One of my favourite Christmas carols is ‘O Holy Night’. One line in particular always stands out, ‘a thrill of hope’. It resonates with the simplicity of the accounts in the gospels. Jesus has arrived in a way that isn’t immediately obvious to everyone, but he is the hope for the world. Hope for all.
Whatever your Christmas looks like this year, whether it comes with joy, chaos, grief, busyness, peace or anxiety, or a complicated mix of emotions, we have this hope as an anchor for our souls.
The next line in the carol states that ‘the weary world rejoices’. In the midst of our weariness, the world can rejoice because God is with us. The kingdom of God is God coming to us.
Just as the plan is presented in its simplicity, so is our response. God has come to us, the simplicity of the gospel message is that Jesus simply calls us to follow him. Just like the shepherds heard the news of the angels and went to see Jesus, we too are invited to come.
It is the simple, inexplicable gift of Christmas.
