“…you are to name him Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins.”
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message
through his prophet:
“Look!
The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us’”
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.
His mother,
Mary,
was engaged to be married to Joseph.
But before the marriage took place,
while she was still a virgin,
she became pregnant
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph,
to whom she was engaged,
was a righteous man
and did not want to disgrace her publicly,
so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.
“Joseph,
son of David,”
the angel said,
“do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.”
God sent a man,
John the Baptist,
to tell about the light
so that everyone might believe
because of his testimony.
John himself was not the light;
he was simply a witness to tell about the light.
The one who is the true light,
who gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world.
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
“And you,
my little son,
will be called
the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
Because of God’s tender mercy,
the morning light from heaven
is about to break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.”
Oh,
how great are God’s riches
and wisdom
and knowledge!
How impossible it is for us to understand
his decisions and his ways!
“Praise the Lord,
the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.”
Oh,
how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
Moses was 120 years old when he died,
yet his eyesight was clear,
and he was as strong as ever.
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,”
the angel told her,
“for you have found favor with God!
You will conceive
and give birth to a son,
and you will name him Jesus.”
“So the baby to be born will be holy,
and he will be called the Son of God.”
Mary responded,
“I am the Lord’s servant.
May everything you have said about me
come true.”
