Rev. Laszlo Vas - Christmas Letter |
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In those
days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus* that
the whole world should be enrolled. This was the
first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of
Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own
town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the
town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that
is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his
betrothed, who was with child. While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child, and she
gave birth to her firstborn son.* She wrapped him in
swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn. Now there
were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock. The
angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of
the Lord shone around them, and they were struck
with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be
afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of
great joy that will be for all the people. For today
in the city of David a savior has been born for you
who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for
you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling
clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there
was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying: ![]() We have heard many sermons about Christmas during our lives. We feel that we know ahead of time everything that could possibly be said about this feast. Its real meaning seems to have reached us deep down before anyone tries to explain it to us. What we should do, we feel, is to be silent together, to look at the crib, and to let the scene speak for itself. But perhaps it would not be amiss for one person to express the simple thoughts aroused in him by the Christmas crib.
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