GOD SPEAKS TO HIS CHILDREN

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48. He is born in Bethlehem

At that time the Emperor Augustus ruled in Rome. He issued the order: All men living in my empire shall register their names on a list; each in the place from which his family comes. So Joseph took Mary and set out from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the home city of the family of David. There Mary gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room at the inn.

Near Bethlehem there were shepherds, guarding their sheep. God’s messenger came to them. They were bathed in his shining brightness. The shepherds were very afraid. But the angel said: Do not fear. I bring you and the whole people a great joy: Today in the city of David the Saviour has been born; he is the Lord. You will recognise him thus: a child, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Suddenly there was a vast throng of angels on the field. They praised God and cried out: In heaven jubilant songs are sung to God and on earth men have peace because God loves them. Then the shepherds were alone again. They said to one another: Come, let us go to Bethlehem and see what has happened there. They hurried there and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. They saw for themselves and passed on to others what God had told them about this child. Everyone who heard them was astonished. Mary, however, kept all these things in her heart and pondered on them.

The shepherds returned to their flocks. They sang hymns of praise and thanked God for everything they had heard and seen. When the child was eight days old he was given the name that Gabriel had announced: Jesus – meaning ‘God saves’.

(Lk 2, 1-21)

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