Creche (part 4)

December 9, 2012 by bkbites Leave a comment

When we last meet I asked a lot of “why” questions and challenged your faith…

Do you trust enough?

Do you believe enough?

I asked you to GIVE up the power of control, just as Mary and Joseph gave up all they knew, to God’s willing heart. Yet, in this, I gave no answer other than guidance on how to accomplish this goal.

Why?

It is not mine to tell you how – that is a special bond between you and God.

Creche is about God’s symbol of love and that symbol was born in a manager to Mary and Joseph, and he was named Jesus.

I know many people do not believe that Jesus is our messiah, or that he was born to save us from our sins. Does that mean you will go to Hell? or be burdened more than those that believe?

A dear friend of mine, whom is Jewish, consulted her Rabbi on this very same question and here is what he responded, “The Messiah is not being, a person. We are waiting more for a world of euphoria. A place where everyone lives in peace. There is no war, everybody can get along. We are able to live together and work together.” It is not a disbelief that Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph but the symbol of him being a Messiah is different in the Jewish culture. Does this mean that they will not be welcome in God’s heaven?

Regardless of whether someone believes in God, Jesus, or heaven or does not, it is in our act that God reflects his will of giving and of grieving. So instead of judging that person, or having harsh criticism for their choices, find the spirit with which God intends us to live our lives and GIVE UNTO THEM KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, AND YOUR FAITH for in that God will be able to reach out.

The Birth of Jesus

(third reading by Becky Brillion)

2 About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books.[a] 2 These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.[b]

3 Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. 4 So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David’s hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David’s family.

5 Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, 6 and while they were there, 7 she gave birth to her first-born[c] son. She dressed him in baby clothes[d] and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds

8 That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. 9 All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. 10 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you,
which will make everyone happy. 11 This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. 12 You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”

13 Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:

14 “Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.”

15 After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.

17 When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. 18 Everyone listened and was surprised. 19 But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.

20 As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.