Discussion for 3 January 2015

Matthew 2:1-12

2In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of 

Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ²asking, “Where

 is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed 

his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” ³When 

King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;

 ⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,

 he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵They told 

him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 

⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” ⁷Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

⁹When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of 

them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until 

it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw

 that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 

¹¹On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his 

mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, 

opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, 

frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a 

dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country

 by another road.

FOR CONSIDERATION
- The most familiar part of this passage is probably the star. A connection to Haley's Comet has been ventured, and star patterns in this period have been dutifully charted. Is there any benefit to spending much time considering contemporary astrophysics?

Discussion for 20 December 2015

LUKE 1:39-45 (46-55)

³⁹In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

⁴⁶And Mary said,

"My soul magnifies the LORD,

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

⁴⁸for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. 

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

⁵⁰His mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

⁵²He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

FOR CONSIDERATION
-What was Mary's motivation for visiting Elizabeth?

Discussion for 13 December 2015

LUKE 3:7-18

⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

¹⁰And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?" ¹¹In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" ¹³He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Does this passage offer encouragement or consolation?

How does this passage relate to Jesus parable of the thief in the night? (Matt 24:42-44)

Discussion for 6 December 2015

CANTICLE LUKE 1:68-79

⁶⁸"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.

⁶⁹He has raised up a mighty savior for us

in the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

⁷¹that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of

all who hate us.

⁷²Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,

and has remembered his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,

to grant us ⁷⁴that we, being rescued from the hands of our

enemies,

might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness

before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people

by the forgiveness of their sins.

⁷⁸By the tender mercy of our God,

the dawn from on high will break upon us,

⁷⁹to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of

death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace."