Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.
Gospel
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
Please be respectful in your comments.
A Blessing to Sundance Ad Rem and all treepers for bringing TRUTH to all who sit on these branches i love you guys be well stay strong R.D.
Here’s to hoping this story will get covered extensively, as this issue has been well reported on this website.
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/12/16/dc_bar_lets_convicted_fbi_russiagate_lawyer_back_in_good_standing_as_court_cuts_him_more_slack_807964.html
“Menagerie” is a class act on a first rate classy site and it is a Blessing on my life to have been guided here by Someone looking out for me. Beautiful candle picture and Scripture.
Amen
Joyful to me! Thank yiu!
Bethlehem-Ephratah
Bethlehem has been translated as house (Beth) of bread (Lehem)
Ephratah has been translated as fruitful (from parah, to bear fruit or be fruitful)
Also called in Scripture Bethlehemjudah; Judah has been translated as Praise God, which could then have the name of the city approximated as house of bread in praise.
.
Though many apparently knew that the verses from Micah applied to the Messiah / Christ, there was some apparent stumbling over the location in the time of Jesus, who was associated with Nazareth and Galilee. In one case, some raised questions about the prophecy evidently laden with assumptions: “Surely the Christ does not come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes out of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” (cf. John 7:41-42).
In another case, Nicodemus asked some of the religious leaders concerning Jesus: “Does our Law judge the man unless first it has heard from him and known what he does?” (John 7:51). In reply: “They answered and said to him, “Are you not also from Galilee? Search and see that a prophet is not raised out of Galilee”” (John 7:52). It appears that many — even the disciple sometimes — tended to talk amongst themselves, even when Jesus was often right in front of them and could be asked questions or to clear up a misunderstanding. Let that be a lesson for us when we have questions to turn directly to God, ask for wisdom and guidance, and hear his word.
I don’t think we know much about Joseph? I assume he was from somewhere in the vicinity of Bethlehem. It wasn’t until after they were commanded to return from Egypt that he settled in Nazareth.
Meanwhile in the parish the priest is celebrating his 10 year anniversary of ordination, and the bishop is coming for mass for St John the Apostle (patron saint) so it’s a busy week or so ahead.
In the well known Authorized version:
A joyful noise!
Menagerie- what a way to start the morning! Contemplating what the fourth week of Advent means. ❤️
P.S. thanks for “allowing” comments today, you’re courageous❤️
Selfishly I must say the ones I read, further expanded my schooling and enlightened me further.
Thanks for all your “reminders”. ✝️😘
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, God Bless America.
Amen.
Wishing all here a Blessed Fourth Sunday of Advent!
Everything Jesus did for us and our salvation was spelled out, sometimes cryptically, by the prophets. Now with the fulfillment it is so clear my three year old granddaughter can understand that the Son of God became a child like her to give her eternal life. Yesterday unprompted during a rehearsal for Christmas Eve she said, “Glory to God in the highest.” Out of the mouth of babes.
Elizabeth’s last words to Mary are insightful in view of the six months of silent treatment she endured as a result of Zechariah’s doubt.
Pentatonix – Mary, Did You Know? (Official Video) – YouTube
I appreciate the prayer this morning, Menagerie. I really needed that to remind me that Jesus appears in many ways…important to remind myself to see Jesus in everyone and every place.
As we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus there is so much great history from the Bible to guide us thru life.
I must admit, tho, that I have a bias towards this from Stillwater’s daily posts
* * * * * Trump America is the Last Bastion of Freedom * * * * *
“May God continue to strengthen our hearts and sustain our souls. May God continue to shed His divine grace upon this land. And may God forever bless the United States of America.” ~ U.S. President Donald J. Trump
Because it speaks to us (me) here and now – In our Beloved US of A and 2021.
I always pause and read this one too
USA Uncle Sam’s Prayer:
Dear God,
I bow my head and ask,
If it be Thy Will,
Please save this land from those who seek to destroy it.
In Jesus’ Name…..Amen
Personally I resent the commercialization of the true meaning of Christmas (Christ Mass). Cutting, putting up and decorating a tree, Candy Canes, Santa Claus, gift giving – all have legitimate roots in celebrating the Holy Birth. At least here – at the Treehouse – we bow our heads and sing the right ‘Christmas Carols’
Amen
Once in a while, when I feel beat down by the goings on of this life, I look the largest picture ever taken. It is a picture of the Anromeda Galaxy. The detail is incredible. The stars are literally like sand…
And the God who made that, and countless others… who has them all counted, should send his Son, a meek baby born in a barn surrounded by the dirt and droppings of life, who would confound Kings and Religious Men… and sacrifice himself for me… Me, who is nothing but everything to the God who created the beach of Andromeda.
How can I fail… Christ is King!
Beautifully summarized ❤️
Amen
May everyone have a very prayerful week as we prepare to celebrate the greatest moment in history, The Incarnation. May joy fill your hearts and homes and may we all look longingly toward the second coming of our Lord. Rejoice in the Lord, always!
Amen.
hope it’s okay to share this link here, First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, is apparently live and President Trump will be attending today’s 4th Sunday of Advent service (link was found on RSBN’s facebook site):
https://icampus.firstdallas.org/
Thank you for that!
Oh Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray. Cast out our sins and enter in; be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels their great glad tidings tell. Oh come to us, abide with us, our Lord, Emanuel.
Ad rem… pls pardon me if I’m mistaken…. isn’t this thread about Advent exclusively?
I’m a long time lurker newly posting. I’m not sure, all you admins are wiser than I.
I thought I remembered menagerie has been explicit about that in the past. If I’m mistaken please accept my apology.
I think we are being trolled. We should be able to share and discuss Advent in peace being most of us here are Christian and we live in America, but there is always one or two that either don’t have a brain or insist on ruining it.
I love Advent Season and the posts this year in particular have been beautiful and inspirational. They have lifted the heart.
Gotcha😉
Dear Menagerie,
Appears that the faithful and ones in training(me) outnumber the trolls trying to shut your thread down!
I speak only for myself, it would be understandable if you shut down the comments. However, please know, imho,your article and all the contributions of others are truly God’s treasure that they can’t and won’t stop us✝️
Feral Cat 🌻❤️
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word…
Menagerie, you feed my faith and I appreciate you and pray for your abundant blessings today and always.
In the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, Amen.
I just learned tonight that the shepherds were very specialized shepherds who were experts in finding the perfect lambs that were to be sacrificed. The swaddling clothes were actually cloths in which the Baby Jesus was wrapped which were from the shredded priestly robes of Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah who was the priest conducting sacrifices. Our Perfect Lamb…Jesus. Look up information about the Migdal Eder.
While there is speculation related to all of this, it appears to remain that and does not appear to be as definitive as seems to be stated here and in some of the top-listed articles and searches on Midgal Eder. There is certainly no statement about from what the swaddling clothes consisted. It is good to couch Scriptural speculation in such terms rather than state things definitively without clear Scriptural backing.