Merry Christmas to all of you, from me and the family, and Anatolian and Mira!
"1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels 8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christthe Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
Luke 1:1-14
I like this story. :-) There are a lot of details about it that I find fascinating, especially as I think more and more what it would have been like to BE in those situations. None of the people really knew what to expect about anything. We can see the whole story now, and sometimes, because it's so familiar, we take things for granted. But the people living in the midst of this - I cannot imagine what kind of turmoil they were in! Even Mary was only given 8 sentences to prepare her for being pregnant while unwed (which could have gotten her killed, and definitely got her ostracized), 8 sentences to tell her she was going to be mothering her Creator... 8-0 I can't imagine how much faith and sheer guts that took to keep going even when she was terrified. And the Shepherds. They crack me up! Did you ever notice how in the Bible, pretty much every time an angel appears to anybody, they first have to say "Fear not!" Angels are only messengers from God, servants who do His bidding, but they must be pretty terrifying! Also, the "Heavenly host" was NOT a choir - a "host" is an army. Yikes! I bet those shepherds were looking for the nearest bush to hide behind!
Of course, I like to think about the animals in the story, too. What did the sheep think about the angels? Did they see them? Were they scared too, or just interested, or did they keep grazing/sleeping? Did other people in the town see the angels, or were they all sleeping? Were there any animals in the stable that night, or nearby? I wonder if they realized something really important was happening that night... Anyway, the more I ponder the accounts, the more I have to think about, and the better it gets.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy asking questions about the Birth also, and imagining yourself in the place of one of the people. I have had several people encourage me to do that about the Bible in general, starting a few years ago, and that, combined with finding out some of the interesting details about the cultures then, really makes the Bible come alive to me.
OK, I'll stop thinking out loud now! :-)
Well, I had a great Christmas today! Lots of presents, fun times with a few relatives who were here, some singing... We all managed to stay pretty cheerful all day, too, which is good - nobody started whining, even late in the afternoon, so that is great! ;-) I gave both horses chopped up candy cane in their breakfasts, and Mira loved it! Anatolian did too, as soon as he tried the first chunk! I also braided red & green ribbons in their forelocks, so they looked cute today. Hopefully tomorrow the computers will behave themselves and I can post the photos. :-D
I hope each of you had a wonderful day, also.
L
"1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.The Shepherds and the Angels 8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christthe Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
Luke 1:1-14
I like this story. :-) There are a lot of details about it that I find fascinating, especially as I think more and more what it would have been like to BE in those situations. None of the people really knew what to expect about anything. We can see the whole story now, and sometimes, because it's so familiar, we take things for granted. But the people living in the midst of this - I cannot imagine what kind of turmoil they were in! Even Mary was only given 8 sentences to prepare her for being pregnant while unwed (which could have gotten her killed, and definitely got her ostracized), 8 sentences to tell her she was going to be mothering her Creator... 8-0 I can't imagine how much faith and sheer guts that took to keep going even when she was terrified. And the Shepherds. They crack me up! Did you ever notice how in the Bible, pretty much every time an angel appears to anybody, they first have to say "Fear not!" Angels are only messengers from God, servants who do His bidding, but they must be pretty terrifying! Also, the "Heavenly host" was NOT a choir - a "host" is an army. Yikes! I bet those shepherds were looking for the nearest bush to hide behind!
Of course, I like to think about the animals in the story, too. What did the sheep think about the angels? Did they see them? Were they scared too, or just interested, or did they keep grazing/sleeping? Did other people in the town see the angels, or were they all sleeping? Were there any animals in the stable that night, or nearby? I wonder if they realized something really important was happening that night... Anyway, the more I ponder the accounts, the more I have to think about, and the better it gets.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy asking questions about the Birth also, and imagining yourself in the place of one of the people. I have had several people encourage me to do that about the Bible in general, starting a few years ago, and that, combined with finding out some of the interesting details about the cultures then, really makes the Bible come alive to me.
OK, I'll stop thinking out loud now! :-)
Well, I had a great Christmas today! Lots of presents, fun times with a few relatives who were here, some singing... We all managed to stay pretty cheerful all day, too, which is good - nobody started whining, even late in the afternoon, so that is great! ;-) I gave both horses chopped up candy cane in their breakfasts, and Mira loved it! Anatolian did too, as soon as he tried the first chunk! I also braided red & green ribbons in their forelocks, so they looked cute today. Hopefully tomorrow the computers will behave themselves and I can post the photos. :-D
I hope each of you had a wonderful day, also.
L
1 comment:
Merry Christmas to you and yours!!
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