The Prophecies of Immanuel
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6–7)
To Us a Child Is Born (Hymn 313)
To us a child is born,
and to us a Son is given;
the report of him will spread abroad,
he alone shall reign.
And all the tribes of the earth
shall render him honor,
and the powers of the heavens
shall bow before him.
His government shall grow
without hindrance, without end:
Prince of Peace he shall be named,
Counselor, Mighty God.
The foundation of his throne
is judgment and truth;
Hosanna to our King —
to the Lord Christ!
Welcome, this glorious Prince,
from the heart we can say;
let him reign over us
from this day and forever.
The Archangel Gabriel Visits the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26–38)
26 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 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. (Luke 1:26–38)
Reflection
The angels sang of this event. The prophets foretold it. The coming of the anointed Christ — born in the flesh from the womb of the virgin Mary — was to be an outward and visible sign for those whose eyes could see it. In these precious moments of conception by the Holy Spirit and the birth of the little Jesus, an immense fountain of salvation for all humanity was about to spring up and begin to pour out its healing waters toward all who receive it. God was about to become a human being, becoming part of his own creation, identifying himself with it. Following the lineage of David, he would become Immanuel, God with us.
Mary and Elizabeth (Luke 1:39–45)
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:39–45)
Reflection
What radiance Mary carried! Such that when Elizabeth saw her, John the Baptist, still in his mother’s womb, stirred and leaped. Elizabeth said to Mary, “Blessed are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Truly they are a blessing. For Immanuel was coming to fulfill a special and higher purpose — something that surpasses even the boldest dreams of prophets, priests, and scholars, something better than the hopes of ordinary people. Time and space were about to be shaken, and into them would enter a King and Savior such as there had never been before and never will be again. He would inaugurate a new era — the era of God’s kingdom.
The Birth in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1–7)
1 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 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. (Luke 2:1–7)
Amid a Wooden Manger
Amid a wooden manger, in a little heap of hay,
a small child lies in silence.
The stars in the sky blink in rapture,
that the Lord Jesus is born among us.
The gentle animals stand on watch,
keeping guard over Jesus’ first sleep.
But behold, the child opens his eyes,
which shine with heavenly rays.
Even if I remain alone in the world,
in a barren wilderness, before a stranger’s door,
as long as the two of us are together, there is no reason
to seek riches and a warm nest.
Reflection
What was this child that lay quietly in Mary’s arms? He is the one who meets the hopes and the fears of all humanity. The One to whom people have always prayed, the One who was in the beginning and who will be in the end. He is the one who, by coming down, lifted us up; the one who, by confining himself in human form, set us free. What is this child of whom angels sing and to whom shepherds bow? He is the Word that became flesh, the infant of Bethlehem, the son of the virgin Mary, God incarnate.
The Angels and the Shepherds (Luke 2:8–14)
8 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.” (Luke 2:8–14)
Hear the Angel Voice (Hymn 318)
Hear the angel voice,
how it sings the Prince on high:
“Glory to God in the highest,
yea, amid his good pleasure!”
Let the earth with the heavens
joyfully sing praise:
Sinner, rise, cry out:
“A glorious Savior is born today!”
Hear the angel voice,
how it sings the Prince on high.
Sung by the heavenly choir,
the Savior, eternal and blessed,
long awaited, now has come
and revealed salvation:
From a virgin he was born —
God appeared, made flesh.
Greet the Lord,
who has come to dwell in the world!
Hear the angel voice,
how it sings the Prince on high.
Hail, Prince of peace on high!
Sun of righteousness you are for us;
you revealed the light
and life amid the darkness.
He emptied himself
to give glory to all,
to raise them from the dust
and deliver them from sin.
Hear the angel voice,
how it sings the Prince on high.
Reflection
How joyful, how merry Christmas comes! It is remarkable that it was to the shepherds that the angels first sang the song, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” God sent his angels first to ordinary people, to proclaim to them the joyful event. How joyful, how merry Christmas comes! For we celebrate how, through the infant in the manger, God’s peace is given to us all — to the poor as well as the rich, to the weak as well as the strong, to the unlearned as well as the educated.
The Worship of the Shepherds (Luke 2:15–20)
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:15–20)
Reflection
Remember what the angels said to the shepherds: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Ordinarily, when a little baby is born, it is laid in a cradle or a special little bed. The little Jesus, however, was laid in a manger. And when the shepherds came to Joseph and Mary, they indeed saw the sign — the infant was lying in the manger. The shepherds nowhere wrote down what they felt when they saw him, but it is clear that they saw enough to know that they were standing in the presence of God. They realized that this little baby lying in the manger was God’s gift to them, and it was also God’s gift to us. A gift from God — God, who becomes one of us, a man, our brother, and at the same time continues to be God, greater than the whole world.
O Wondrous, Glorious, Holy Night (Hymn 315)
O wondrous, glorious, holy night:
heavenly light!
And behold, the songs of angels
are heard upon the earth.
They sing: “Glory, glory in the highest to God!
Glory to Christ!
Peace on all the earth,
glory in the highest to God!”
The shepherds tell it everywhere:
“News! News for all the race!
Today to you a Savior is born:
he is Christ the Lord!”
From the east, behold, wise men,
led onward by a star,
frankincense and myrrh and gold
they bring to Christ.
Has the love of Christ
touched us too?
Yea, all of us, with the angels,
shall glorify our Savior.
The Gifts of the Magi (Matthew 2:1–11)
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1–11)
Reflection
It was truly a holy night — the night on which our dear Savior was born. He was a Jewish king, but not only that; later, through his death and resurrection, he would reveal himself as king of the Gentiles as well — our heavenly King. In time, he who then lay in his mother’s arms would grow up and embrace with his pierced hands all who call upon his Name. Blessed be God for the light with which he shone upon us through the birth of his Son.
A Star Shines in the Heavens (Hymn 594)
A star shines in the heavens
and scatters wondrous light.
There, where the child has come,
it marks out the way.
Come, then, and set out
with us now toward the wondrous land,
there where the wise men walk,
following the bright, starry path.
Most humbly he came down from heaven
and dwelt within the manger.
From the heavenly throne he came,
a glorious King — a little child.
Here is my gift now, O Christ,
here is my heart.
And within it, King, come dwell,
let the sun shine within it!
The Word Became Flesh (John 1:1–5, 14; 3:16–18)
We began this evening by recalling the prophecies about the virgin conception and the character of the Messiah. We spoke of how God became one of us in order to be with us. In fact, the story of Christmas is the story of salvation from sin. From another angle, the evangelist John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, describes all that happened like this:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1–5)
“The Word,” or “the Logos,” in these verses does not mean words, reason, science, or literature. It is a name that John gives to Jesus in order to convey his relationship with God. Jesus is not another God, for God is one. Jesus himself is God. The Bible reveals to us one God of a single essence in three persons — one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here is how John describes the incarnation of the Son:
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
A little further on, in the golden verse of the Bible, John explains to us the reason for the incarnation and the sacrifice — God’s holy and boundless love for us.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16–17)
This is the gospel of our incarnate and risen Lord. Glory be to his name!
Glory in the Highest (Hymn 316)
“Glory in the highest!” Listen!
I heard a wondrous voice:
I heard a great assembly with one tongue
singing the tender Savior.
“Peace on earth!” Listen!
A Savior has been born:
for each of us this glorious Savior
the Father has sent.
“Glory in the highest!” Sing, all of you!
The Lord has visited us:
for every son of Adam
he has sent his Son.
“Peace on earth!” Sing, all of you!
The Messiah has been born: sing aloud,
“The Lord is with us —
the Lord Immanuel.”
Sing today with joy, O whole world!
The Lord has loved us:
let the good news ring out today:
“A Savior has been born!”
The Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
Eucharistic Prayer
Truly, O Lord, we believe in your one and only Son, who was born in Bethlehem on that night more than two thousand years ago. And we thank you for all the gifts you have given us through him. We praise you for his birth; for how he lived out his life as a doer of your holy will; and because in the end he, in obedience and love, gave himself over to death for our sake, even death on a cross. We thank you that through this sacrifice of his, he opened the gates of heaven for all people and made a way to eternal life with you. Therefore, Lord, we set this table before you, just as he commanded us on the night he was betrayed. We remember how he took bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you.” We remember also how, after supper, he took the cup of blessing and, having given thanks, handed it to his disciples with the words, “Take and drink; this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of the sins of many.” God, bless this bread and this cup, that they may be a worthy symbol of the body and blood of the Lord. Through them may we have communion in our Lord Jesus Christ. Send your Spirit upon them and upon us, and grant us to reach the unity of the faith and to live in him and through him — faithful and righteous in all our ways. This we ask in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, praying with the prayer he taught us (Matthew 6:9–13):
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ (Matthew 6:9–13)
Silent Night, Holy Night
The homeland of this song is Bavaria. The year was 1818.
The poet Joseph Mohr was a priest in Oberndorf, and his friend Franz Gruber — a teacher and composer — was the organist in the church.
It was December, and the priest had visited a sick man who lived far away. It seemed to him that the nearby village of Arnsdorf resembled Bethlehem. In his spirit he saw the cave where Mary and Joseph watched over the child. The valley around him seemed like the pasture on which the shepherds kept their flocks and awaited the Savior.
Mohr met with Gruber, and it came up that the organ in the church was broken. Mohr said, “We must offer the people something new, for the glory of the child Jesus. I will write the words, and you — the melody.” They agreed that the text should be ready by Wednesday — the 24th of December.
The priest went off and relived the scenes of that evening. He took up his pen and wrote what was in his soul. The next night he reread what he had written: “Behold, a Savior has come!”
At noon he presented the song to Gruber. When he read it, the teacher cried out, “Dear friend, what you bring is a heavenly gift!” He sat down at the piano and played the melody we know so well. “Silent night, holy night…”
Christmas came. At the end of the service the priest stood beside Franz Gruber, who was waiting for him with a guitar in hand. Then, for the first time, sung by a strong bass and a resonant tenor, the majestic song “Silent night, holy night” rang out. Everyone stood as if transfixed. At the end an old sailor gripped Gruber’s hand and said, “Master teacher, this song will be sung even when we are no more!”
Today, after more than 180 years, it is indeed sung across the whole earth!
Silent Night (Hymn 314)
Silent night, holy night!
All the earth is in stillness.
See! the bright star of Bethlehem
calls the wise from a foreign land
to where Christ is born!
Silent night, holy night,
a song now of praise.
Angels sing with joyful voice —
they bring us news of salvation:
behold, the Savior has come!
Silent night, holy night!
All the earth sings with gladness.
To God in the highest let there be given
glory and honor; from everywhere sing:
peace forever upon the earth!
Closing Prayer
Now that, with the help of God’s Word, we have journeyed together to Bethlehem, where we saw the newborn King, let us pray with the prayer of the righteous and devout Simeon, who was waiting for the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:29–32):
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29–32)