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But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2: 19-24) Reflection Mary’s face was covered in sweat because the work had been exhausting. Joseph never expected to be a midwife. But here he was, looking at Mary, who was beside herself with joy. The wait was over, and the baby was even more beautiful than they had imagined. Ten toes. Ten fingers. A good set of lungs. Mother and baby are doing fine. Maybe this little boy was born with a head full of dark curly hair. Maybe his eyes were big and brown. No matter what he looked like, his parents, like all parents, probably felt a sense of awe-filled trepidation at the prospect of now raising this adorable, loud, little miracle. No pressure…just be great parents to the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the one born to save God’s people. Make sure he grows up to love God and love people. There they sit in the wee small hours of the night. Nobody knows yet (or so they think…. the shepherds are just about on their way…) For now, it’s just the three of them. It won’t be long until they must tell everyone, so they’re taking in this little moment of peace and quiet. Baby Jesus has been lovingly swaddled and is sleeping in Mary’s arms. Mary and Joseph look at his little face, listen to his quiet breathing, and hold his tiny hands. And the sleepy little town of Bethlehem has no idea that it’s about to become world famous because of the newest plus-one on Joseph’s census form. + --Sarah Hershberger Prayer Lord, please lay your healing hands upon all those that are sick and hurting in the world this day. Please stay by their side and give them strength needed to carry on and walk humbly with you. Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Christmas focuses on God within our lives. Our devotions this year were developed to look at the parts of the nativity scene.
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