Christmas Midnight 2011, Angels' Offering Song

Christmas I, Midnight

Matthew 1: 1, 17-25

[Now is proclaimed the beginning of the whole Gospel, according to Matthew in the first chapter.]

Abraham and Isaac, He Qi

This is the book of the new creation, which has happened through Jesus Christ [or, the generation of Jesus Christ], a son of David, who is a son of Abraham.

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

   Isaac the father of Jacob,

   Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

   Perez the father of Hezron,

   Hezron the father of Ram,

  Ram the father of Amminadab,

   Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,

  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

   Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

   Obed the father of Jesse,

  and Jesse the father of King David.

   David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

   Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

   Abijah the father of Asa,

  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

   Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

   Jehoram 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,

  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

  After the exile to Babylon:

   Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

   Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

   Abihud the father of Eliakim,

   Eliakim the father of Azor,

  Azor the father of Zadok,

   Zadok the father of Akim,

   Akim the father of Elihud,

  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

   Eleazar the father of Matthan,

   Matthan the father of Jacob,

  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Goya

From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.

The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: Mary, his mother, was betrothed to Joseph. But before they were aware of having come together, she conceived a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph however, her husband, who was an upright man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, was considering whether he should quietly set her free [or, decided to consider all this a mystery.] As he was pondering this, behold the angel of the Lord appeared before him in a dream and said to him:

 “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is to be born of her is conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will be who will heal his own of their error and guilt. “

All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of the prophet, might be fulfilled:

“A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, that is, God in our midst.”

           

Now when Joseph rose from his sleep he did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus.  

Christmas I, Midnight

Dore

December 25, 2011

Matthew 1:1, and 17-25

We all inhabit two worlds. The one is our ordinary everyday material world. And the other is a parallel world, a night realm we enter in sleep. This night realm is alive with a multitude of beings who would guide and advise us. This is how we sometimes wake up knowing exactly what we need to do.

In tonight’s reading, we hear of a moment in time, when the guidance of generations will bear its fruit. And one individual, Joseph, must decide how best to react to an extraordinary event. In the realm of night, an angel comes to him. The angel clarifies the situation and advises him. And Joseph knows what to do.

There are individuals today who have a special relationship to the angelic world.[1] They tell us that we are all constantly surrounded by a multitude of angels, even during the day. In addition to our own special angelic companion, our guardian angel, we are surrounded by the angels of others; angels attracted by groups of people coming together for the good; angels attracted by prayer. Had we but the sight, we could see that a room such as our chapel is filled with angels, rejoicing in the fragrance of the religious substance we are generating through our hearts’ power of prayer.

Tonight we are visiting the night realm—awake. Tonight we join in the offering song of the angels. We offer our thanks that once again the Christ appears in the earthly realm. Tonight the two parallel worlds come together in the infinity of God’s love.

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] Lorna Byrne, Angels in My Hair