Glory To God In The Highest, And On Earth Peace To All People.

Luke 2:13-14

“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 among those with whom He is pleased!” (ESV)

Good evening dear readers. Well, here we are, 9 days away from Christmas. I imagine by now you’re all rushing around trying to do the last minute things.

For me, we don’t have the money to “do” Christmas. No Christmas cards to mail out, no Christmas shopping, no presents to wrap. We have a few decorations on my dresser (they were given to us last Christmas by my best friend Tricia).

Mary and Joseph didn't go Christmas shopping. Mary didn't get a baby shower. Joseph wasn't standing around handing out cigars. They were in a barn filled with barn yard animals. There was nothing fancy about that first Christmas.

Somewhere along the way we have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. There are so many more people in the world who won’t have a place to go for Christmas. They will be much like me. No Christmas tree, no presents, no cards. BUT, what I will have is my family.

When the angel appears to announce the birth of Jesus, they were telling people to be glad because a Savior had been born. That in itself was a reason to celebrate! They didn't come bearing Christmas presents (that was later on when the Wise men came!). There was no feast (and there was no roast beast! Lol).

How did we manage to stray so far away from the reason we celebrate Christmas? After all. if Jesus Christ hadn't been born, then there would be no reason to celebrate. Let’s not forget the reason WHY we celebrate this holiday. 

Third Week of Advent

As I was looking for a picture for tonights' blog, I learned something new. The third Sunday in Advent is called Gaudette Sunday. I was raised Roman Catholic and yet this is something I never heard about before! 

So, here is the definition of Gaudette Sunday:
Gaudete Sunday is the name given to the 3rd Sunday of Advent. The name is taken from the words of the introit, Gaudete in Domino semper, "rejoice in the Lord always.The Scriptural basis comes from Philippians 4:4,5. Gaudete Sunday is a minor "break" from the more penitential nature of the Advent season, and signals a shift from a penitential style of waiting to a more joyful tone. Because of the more joyful tone of Gaudete Sunday, rose colored (pink) vestments may be used instead of the normal violet ones. Also, the rose colored Advent candle is lit.

Before we light another candle, stop and think for a moment, of what this is all about. As we light our candle, let's pray: Heavenly Father, we come to You tonight as we light yet another candle. Let us remember that light in the sky that proclaimed the birth of Your Son Jesus Christ. Your unending love for us brings brightness to our darkest days. Let your light forever shine within each one of us. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Our reading for tonight finds us still in the Gospel of Luke and continuing story of the birth of Jesus Christ. We are in Luke 2:8-12.

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Every time I read this passage I can't help but hearing it in my head in the voice of Linus (from Charlie Brown).

I know if I were a shepherd in a field, at night, and some bright being came down from above, I sure as heck would be scared! In a way, it sounds like something out of "Close Encounters..." I'm sure those shepherds were saying to themselves "no one is ever going to believe this!!"

Have you ever experienced something that you knew no one would ever believe? How do you describe it? I can hear the conversation now! "Hey, I was out in the field watching over the sheep and this bright light came down and told me that some Savior was born!" Ok, time to break out the pretty white coats and the rubber room! lol

But they believed. They knew this was something special. This was no ordinary birth. And so they journeyed on to see the Christ Child. God kept His promise. Mary and Joseph trusted in God.

Completion of 2nd week of Advent

So, we have completed another week of Advent, which brings us to 10 days before our celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The reading tonight comes from Luke 2:6-7. "So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

There is so much controversy surrounding exactly WHEN Christ was born. But, really, does it matter if He was born in April or December? What we are celebrating is the fact that this Amazing Person was born! This infant who was born in a stable, the most humbling of births unfitting to Someone who would one day come to save our souls.  

As a mother of 3 I can relate to what Mary is going through. Here she is 9 months pregnant. She comes to this town where she doesn't know anyone. There's not even an inn for her and Joseph to stay at. Instead they are offered a barn. Seriously, a barn!?!? This woman was to give birth to the Savior of the World and He was going to be born in a barn. 

I know that if it were me in that position Joseph would never hear the end of it from me!!! "Really, Joe, if we had left sooner maybe we'd have gotten a room!" or "Excuse me Mr. Innkeeper but in case you haven't noticed I'm PREGNANT and the best you can do is a barn??!!?" Oh, I'd be fuming!!!! But that is not so with Mary. She quietly accepts the accommodation.  She is grateful to even have a place to stay. 

So, here is Mary, in the barn with the animals, about to give birth. She doesn't even have her mother there. She has to make due with Joseph and some farm animals. And so, our Savior is born, in a stable, wrapped in some cloth to keep Him warm. What an unremarkable and humble birth for our Savior. 

Through all this Mary and Joseph had been obedient to God's word. And God followed through with His promise of a Savior. God does things in His own time with His own reasoning. We need to be faithful and trust His word, just as Mary and Joseph did.

Twelfth night of Advent--Luke 1:46-56

               Mary praises God

⁴⁶ Mary said,

“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
⁴⁷     In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
⁴⁸ He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
    Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
⁴⁹         because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
⁵⁰     He shows mercy to everyone,
        from one generation to the next,
        who honors him as God.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm.
    He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
⁵²     He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
        and lifted up the lowly.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty-handed.
⁵⁴ He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
        remembering his mercy,
⁵⁵     just as he promised to our ancestors,
        to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her home.

Mary is so joyful of all the things to come. She wants to praise His name. She tells how God has done so many wondrous things throughout time. And yet, here is Mary. No one special. And yet she is CHOSEN by God to give birth to the Savior of the world! She tells about how God rewards those who are faithful to His word and punishes those who go against His word. She mentions how God keeps His promises. She is just so overjoyed at all God has done.

If you see the time frame, it says that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about 3 months. Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant when Mary came to see her. So, Mary probably left after Elizabeth had given birth. 

I found this bit of information on Bible Gateway: (Bible Gateway: Show Resources) "Luke 1:46-56  This song of praise, called the Magnificat from its opening word in Latin, is revolutionary in its concern for the poor and despised of this world, and its rejection of the rich and proud." 

I found this explanation on a site called Bible.org.(Bible.org Luke 1:46-56): We are going to be instructed by a teenage Jewish girl who, it seems, knew God far better than most of us do. Our text is the hymn of praise that Mary spoke in response to Elizabeth’s recognition through the Holy Spirit that Mary was carrying the promised Messiah in her womb. In this hymn, Mary extols God for His covenant mercy and for His righteous judgments. Although she was probably only 15 or 16 years old when she spoke these words, Mary had a deep understanding of God and His mercy. If you do not know God and His gracious salvation through Jesus Christ, I encourage you to listen carefully, so that you may come to know Him. If you do know God and His salvation, the lesson is:

11th Night of Advent Luke 1:39-45

I can't seem to get this together. I have prayed to Jesus asking Him to open my heart and my mind so that I may have a better understanding of what it is He is trying to say to me. 

This time our reading takes us to see Mary visiting Elizabeth. It's funny, really, that the passage we are reading now is one that I just read. We were at church last night and I asked my pastor how he learned to interpret what he is reading in the bible. I used last nights passage to start with and we discussed it. He gave me some very good ideas. As we were discussing it, I read ahead a little and made some notes. 

 In those days Mary got up and went hurriedly into the hill country, to a town of Judah, and entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She exclaimed with a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb! And who am I that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me? For the instant the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”


So, here is what I learned from my pastor: First you ask basic questions: who, what, when, where, and why. Then you ask yourself "what is like me?", "what is unlike me?", "where am I in the story?", "what is different in translations?". He said that you should have 2 or 3 different translations available so you can compare them. Find keywords, think about the emotions. But most important of all, PRAY. Pray before you read, pray before doing your interpretation. Find out what God is trying to tell you.  

Mary has gone to Judah to visit her cousin Elizabeth (we see the definition of what relation Elizabeth is to Mary in BibleGateway.com. Other versions say Elizabeth is Mary's sister, in others it just says she was a "relation".)

Elizabeth, who is married to Zechariah, is 6 months pregnant. BUT Elizabeth was beyond child bearing age and thought to be "barren". But here we have not 1 but 2 "immaculate" conceptions (I count Elizabeth as one since technically she was too old to become pregnant). These 2 women were chosen by God. Why they were chosen is not clear. It shows, however, what great faith in God these women had. Zechariah had been praying for years for a son, and here, after he thought there would never be a child, his wife was pregnant. 

Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, who rejoices when in the presence of Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus. In turn, Jesus reacts the same in the presence of John the Baptist. This shows the connection of the two who will some day change the world. We see that Elizabeth is humbled in the presence of this woman and the savior she will give birth to. 

9th Night of Advent

The reading tonight it the rest of the Gospel of Matthew. Depending on which version bible you have, it may be Matthew 1:22-26 or 25. The ones I am using only go to 25.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will conceive and 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 did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

So, dear readers, I am learning all this right along with all of you. I'm looking for resources so that I can better understand what it is I am reading and writing about. And on that note.....

Christ is a title applied to Jesus. It is not his last name. It is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament word mashiah (‘Anointed One’, the Messiah). It is this chapter we see Matthew's claim that Jesus is the Messiah, Yahweh’s Anointed One, the One promised from

ancient days to be God’s Savior for his people. Then Matthew

extends this bold claim with two others, saying that Jesus Christ is

‘the son of David, the son of Abraham’.

The Old Testament foretold of the birth of Jesus Christ. We see this in Isaiah:

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this (Isa. 9:6–7).

Matthew builds his message on the Old Testament. What was promised

long ago is now being fulfilled. This is the good news that Matthew

brings to us.