Christmas

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
The nations will see your righteousness,
all kings will see your glory.
You will be called by a new name
which the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You shall be a bright crown
in the hand of the Lord,
a royal diadem
in the fingers of your God.
No more will you be called "Forsaken,"
and your land will not be called "Desolation" again;
but you shall be called "My Delight in Her,"
and your land “Espoused.”
For the Lord has taken delight in you,
and your land will be called “Espoused.”
As a young man marries a virgin,
so will your Builder marry you.
As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

– The word of the Lord.

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty forever,
and build up your throne through all generations.”

Blessed the people who know the festal shout!
Lord, they walk in the light of your presence;
all day long they exult in your name,
they rejoice in your righteous rule.

“He shall call out to me: 'You are my Father,
my God, my rock, my Savior!'
I will keep my love for him forever,
my covenant with him will never fail.”

Invited to speak in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia,
Paul stood up, made a gesture with his hand, and said:
“Men of Israel, and you who fear God,
listen:
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors;
he made his people great during their stay in Egypt
and brought them out of it with a mighty arm.
Later God raised up David for them as king,
and bore this testimony about him:
I have found David, the son of Jesse;
a man after my own heart
who will carry out all my will.
From this man’s descendants,
God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel
a Savior:
Jesus,
whose coming John the Baptist proclaimed beforehand,
preaching a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel.
As John was finishing his course,
he said:
‘What do you suppose I am?
I am not he.
But behold, one is coming after me;
and I am not worthy to untie the sandals of his feet.’”

– The word of the Lord.

The genealogy of Jesus Christ,
son of David, son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah, by Tamar, the father of Perez and Zerah,
Perez was the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Aram,
Aram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon, by Rahab, the father of Boaz,
Boaz, by Ruth, the father of Obed,
Obed the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of King David.

David, by the wife of Uriah, was the father of Solomon,
Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah,
Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers
at the time of the exile to Babylon.

After the exile to Babylon,
Jeconiah the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,
of whom was born Jesus,
who is called Christ.

Thus the total number of generations is:
from Abraham to David, fourteen generations;
from David to the exile to Babylon, fourteen generations;
from the exile to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
Mary, his mother, was betrothed to Joseph;
before they lived together,
she was found to be with child
through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph, her husband,
who was a just man,
and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
resolved to divorce her quietly.
But as he was considering this,
behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said:
“Joseph, son of David,
do not fear to take Mary your wife into your home,
for the child conceived in her
is from the Holy Spirit;
she will give birth to a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus
(that is, The-Lord-saves),
because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place
to fulfill
the word of the Lord spoken by the prophet:
Behold, the virgin will conceive,
and she will give birth to a son;
they will call his name Emmanuel,
which means: “God-with-us.”

When Joseph woke up,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him:
he took his wife into his home,
but had no marital relations with her,
until she gave birth to a son,
and he called his name Jesus.

– Let us acclaim the Word of God.

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