Luke 1:26-34 Common English Bible

When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.

When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.”

Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?”

Matthew 1:18-21, 24

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly.

As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife.

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Pastoral Prayer

O Lord,

May this holiday season to be filled with light instead of darkness.

The light that comes from unconditional love.

The light that comes from genuine graciousness.

The light that comes from kindness and mercy.

The light that comes from engagement.

The light that bends the moral arch of history toward justice.

Let there be light.

In Christ’s light we pray,

Amen