This year I would like to put a little Christ back into my family’s Christmas celebrations. I’d like to get the Straight Dope on which chapters of the New Testament have the most appropriate passages for a Christmas eve reading, telling the story of Christ’s birth. Thanks!
Luke 2:1-20 is the classic Christmas story, with the Shepherds. (“Now, it came to pass, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus…”)
Matthew 2:1-12 describes the visit of the Wise Men – which happened at some point after Christmas; traditionally it’s celebrated twelve days later, on Epiphany (Twelfth Night).
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Here’s an Advent/Christmas Prayer Service you can use. (Yes, I am it’s author.) Pick and choose the parts you want. Included are suggested hymns.
Leader:+ In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Leader: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord be with you all…
All: And also with you.
Leader: God of promise and fulfillment,
let the light of this wreath help us to keep awake and alert
as we wait for the coming of Jesus, your Son;
so that we may remain holy and just,
and be prepared to greet him with joy in the fullness of your kingdom
where you will bring us to everlasting life
for ever and ever. . .
All: Amen.
The Advent Wreath is lighted in silence. The appropriate number of candles depending on which week of Advent: one candle for the first week; two for the second; etc…
First Proclamation – Isaiah 7:10-14
He shall be called Immanuel
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Second Proclamation – Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Rejoice, Jerusalem, the Lord, your king, is rejoicing in your midst.
O Come, All Ye Faithful
Third Proclamation – Psalm 98:4-9
Make a joyful noise, let floods and hills sound in joy.
Psalm 98: Joy to the World
Fourth Proclamation – Isaiah 11:1-10
The Messiah, a descendant of Jesse and King David
shall come with spiritual power to reveal
the glory of the Lord’s day on his holy mountain
Angels We Have Heard on High
Fifth Proclamation – Luke 1:26-38
Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary of the birth of Son of the Most High.
What Child Is This?
Sixth Proclamation – Luke 1:39-56
The Virgin Mother sings of the fulfillment of the prophetic promises
of salvation for Israel and for the lowly of the world
People Look East
Seventh Proclamation – Luke 2:1-7
The humble birth of Jesus
Silent Night
Eighth Proclamation – Luke 2:8-20
Give glory to God for the birth of Jesus, Savior and Messiah
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Ninth Proclamation – Matthew 2:1-11
Give homage to Jesus, the newborn Messiah,
who is the King of the Jews and all peoples
The First Noel
Tenth Proclamation --John 1:1-14
The Divine and Eternal Word has become Flesh
O Holy Night
Peace.
Very nice, Moriah. If possible, read the Zephaniah passage in the Jerusalem Bible text, which does a much better job of the sense of exultation than anything else I’ve ever seen.
Read Matthew 1-2, read Luke 1-3, and try to reconcile them.
Witnessing belongs in Great Debates.
Off to Great Debates.
DrMatrix - GQ Moderator
Scriptures not mentioned so far-
New Testament-
John 1:1-17,
Galatians 4:4-7
Hebrews 1:1-3,
Revelation 12:1-5
Old Testament-
Isaiah 9:1-7
Thank you all. These will make very illuminating reading.
Given the context of the discussion, I trust I can wish you all a merry Christmas without fear of giving offence.
If you are not averse to drawing from the deuterocanonical books, Wisdom 18:14 - 16 has one of the most explicit passages presaging the coming of Christ:
yBeayf- I’ve read Wisdom but forgot about that! That IS cool!
Tho isn’t that referring to the Passover night?
It has traditionally been applied to both Passover and to the Nativity; it is one of the sources of the tradition that Christ was born at midnight (as in the carol “It came upon a midnight clear”).
Furthermore, at least in Eastern theology, the Angel of God who appears to the Hebrews in the Old Testament is actually the pre-incarnate Christ manifesting himself; hence, the above passage is either way referring to Christ.
yBeayf- that’s right! I’d also forgotten about the “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” connection.
He probably wasn’t the earliest one to make the connection, but I know Eusebius discusses the OT Angel of God as The Son in his History of the Church. But not only Eastern theology maintains this connection, but so also do many Fundamentalist/Evangelical theologians. In a reverse way, so does the JW’s, who use it as evidence of Jesuss Created Sonship, rather than His Eternal Sonship.