Readings for December 21

This week is our Service of Lessons and Carols at both services. We hope you'll take time to reflect on the following passages.

Genesis 3:8-15

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (NIV)

Isaiah 11:1-9

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;    

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—    

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,    

the Spirit of counsel and of might,    

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,    

or decide by what he hears with his ears;

⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,    

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;    

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

⁵ Righteousness will be his belt    

and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,    

the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together;   

 and a little child will lead them.

⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,    

their young will lie down together,    

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den,    

and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy    

on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea. (NIV)

Micah 5:2-4

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,    

though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me    

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,    

from ancient times.”

³ Therefore Israel will be abandoned    

until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,

and the rest of his brothers return    

to join the Israelites.

⁴ He will stand and shepherd his flock    

in the strength of the Lord,    

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they will live securely, for then his greatness    

will reach to the ends of the earth. (NIV)

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[b] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (NIV)

Luke 2:1-7

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. (NIV)

Luke 2:8-14

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”