THE BIRTH OF THE LORD - THE ANGELS APPEAR TO THE SHEPHERDS

THE BIRTH OF THE LORD
THE ANGELS APPEAR TO THE SHEPHERDS
LUKE 2:1-20

And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, 
out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judaea, unto the city of David, 
which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David.)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, 
being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, 
and laid Him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country 
shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,
"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the Babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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,
and on earth peace, 
good will toward men."

And it came to pass,
as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass,
which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found
Mary, and Joseph,
and the Babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it,
they made known abroad the saying
which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things
which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things
that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

THE WORD BECAME FLESH
JOHN 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by Him;
and without Him 
was not any thing made that was made.
In Him was life;
and the life was the Light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness;
and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John.

The same came for a witness, 
to bear witness of the Light,
that all men through him might believe.
He was not that Light,
but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world was made by Him,
and the world knew Him not.

He came unto His own,
and His own received Him not.
But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name:

Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the one only of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.

AN ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSEPH

AN ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSEPH
MATTHEW 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,
but before they came together,
she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man
and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up,
he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took Mary home as his wife.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.
And he gave him the name Jesus.

TO US A CHILD IS BORN

TO US A CHILD IS BORN
ISAIAH 9

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom
for those who were in distress.
In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles,
by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

SIGN OF IMMANUEL

SIGN OF IMMANUEL
ISAIAH 7:10-16

Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God;
ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David;
Is it a small thing for you to weary men,
but will ye weary my God also?

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.
Butter and honey shall he eat,
that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

For before the child shall know to refuse the evil,
and choose the good,
the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Arcana Coelestia 2184.
That "butter" is the celestial of the rational….
As regards butter, it signifies in the Word what is celestial,
and this from its fatness.

Arcana Coelestia 5620.
That "honey" denotes delight is because it is sweet,
and everything sweet in the natural world
corresponds to what is delightful and pleasant in the spiritual world.

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
LUKE 1:57-80

Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered;
and she brought forth a son.
And her neighbours and her cousins
heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her;
and they rejoiced with her.

And it came to pass,
that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child;
and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
And his mother answered and said,
Not so; but he shall be called John.

And they said unto her,
There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
And they made signs to his father,
how he would have him called.

And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying,
His name is John.
And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately,
and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

And fear came on all that dwelt round about them:
and all these sayings were noised abroad
throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying,
What manner of child shall this be!
And the hand of the Lord was with him.

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost,
and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets,
which have been since the world began:

That we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
and to remember his holy covenant;

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us,
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve him without fear,

In holiness and righteousness before him,
all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called
the prophet of the Highest:
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people
by the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God;
whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit,
and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

MARY VISITS ELIZABETH

MARY VISITS ELIZABETH
LUKE 1:39-56

And Mary arose in those days,
and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

And it came to pass, that,
when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary,
the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said,
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

And whence is this to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

And blessed is she that believed:
for there shall be a performance of those things
which were told her from the Lord.

MARY'S SONG

And Mary said,

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
For He that is mighty hath done to me great things;
and holy is His name.

And His mercy is on them that fear Him
from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with His arm;
He hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He hath sent empty away.

He hath helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy;
as He spake to our fathers,
to Abraham, and to His seed for ever.

And Mary abode with her about three months,
and returned to her own house.