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"I will hold Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens.


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    The Christmas Story from Luke

    1: 5-80

    5
    In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
    6
    Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.
    7
    But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
    8
    Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
    9
    he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
    10
    And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
    11
    Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
    12
    When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
    13
    But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
    14
    He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
    15
    for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.
    16
    Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.
    17
    And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
    18
    Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
    19
    The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
    20
    And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."
    21
    Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.
    22
    When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
    23
    When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
    24
    After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
    25
    "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
    26
    In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
    27
    to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
    28
    The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
    29
    Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
    30
    But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
    31
    You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
    32
    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,
    33
    and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
    34
    "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
    35
    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.
    36
    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.
    37
    For nothing is impossible with God."
    38
    "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
    39
    At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,
    40
    where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.
    41
    When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
    42
    In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
    43
    But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
    44
    As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
    45
    Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
    46
    And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord
    47
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
    48
    for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
    49
    for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name.
    50
    His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
    51
    He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
    52
    He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
    53
    He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
    54
    He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
    55
    to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."
    56
    Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
    57
    When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
    58
    Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
    59
    On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
    60
    but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
    61
    They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
    62
    Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
    63
    He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John."
    64
    Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.
    65
    The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.
    66
    Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.
    67
    His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
    68
    "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.
    69
    He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
    70
    (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
    71
    salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us--
    72
    to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
    73
    the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
    74
    to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear
    75
    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
    76
    And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
    77
    to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
    78
    because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
    79
    to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."
    80
    And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.

    Luke2:1-40

    1
    In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
    2
    (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
    3
    And everyone went to his own town to register.
    4
    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.
    5
    He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
    6
    While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
    7
    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.
    8
    And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
    9
    An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
    10
    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.
    11
    Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
    12
    This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
    13
    Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
    14
    "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
    15
    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."
    16
    So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
    17
    When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
    18
    and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
    19
    But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
    20
    The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
    21
    On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
    22
    When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
    23
    (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord" ),
    24
    and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
    25
    Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
    26
    It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
    27
    Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
    28
    Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
    29
    "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.
    30
    For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    31
    which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
    32
    a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
    33
    The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
    34
    Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
    35
    so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
    36
    There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
    37
    and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
    38
    Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
    39
    When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.
    40
    And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.