Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus 1In 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.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register. 4So 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. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. The Shepherds and the Angels 8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15When 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." 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Jesus Presented in the Temple 21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. 22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"[b]), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."[c] 25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss[d] your servant in peace. 30For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." 33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." 36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.


So this has been my past three nights worth of reading. Coincidence? NOT.

I do have lots of questions. For example, why is it that angels are not more talked about? It seems that angels are something affiliated with Christmas due to this section of the gospels. Mark/Peter didn't talk about angels. Matthew didn't talk about angels. So why is it that Luke talks about the celestial beings? How is it that he knows and the other two don't? It wasn't like Luke was one of the disciples? Luke is a doctor. Or at least I think he is a doctor. Why would a man of science (or at least I see physicians as scientists) talk about angels? I mean, that is the farthest thing from science. It is apparent that this is an oral history because of the way the book starts. Luke is talking to Theophilus. I'll call him Theo for short becaus his name is hard to type. Theo and Luke are sitting in front of a fire in the middle of . . . Rome? And Theo is asking, "So who is this Christ guy that Peter has set up this Catholic Church for?"
"Well, he is a healer and a miracle worker, but wait let me start from the beginning. It starts with Elizabeth." Luke starts. Then from nowhere, we have the gospel of Luke. Now, why would a physician believe in angels or in a Christ Child? He is a scientist. He is a believer in what can be treated not what cannot be seen.

Now something strange that I have not seen in the other gospels (Other than the whole history of God's Son) is the songs of the people. Zarcharias has a song he sings when John is born. Mary has the Magnificat. Then this Simeon comes along and he has something to say. The strangest part of Simeon's praise in my Bible is that all of the "thee's" and "thou's" were left in the text. It's like someone just got tired of trying to correct the KJV and left that part the same. Wacko. It is interesting to hear the blessings of Simeon and such. It reminds me of David's psalms. We learn about King David in another book, but his psalms were recorded. It is as though the significance of praise is incorporated into this gospel. There are not praises, blessings or psalms of any kind in the other gospels. WHY? Is it because the other writers found it unimportant? Or because they were too busy keeping up with Christ as they traveled the countryside spreading miracles? OR is this just God's way of covering all his bases?

Why are there only four gospels? Why aren't there twelve? Or more? I have been told that these books were chosen to be a part of the Bible because they had weight and authority. I guess the other tales were too overly fabricated. Or not well written or missing parts.

Who is Anna? Why is she signifigant to the story? Generally speaking when a woman shows up in the Bible at all she has some umph. Like Queen Ester or Ruth. This woman was a prophettess. She is an old woman who is hanging out worshiping God. Why is she mentioned?

Yeah, I have lots of questions. Did I mention that I got to pet a squirrel a couple of days ago? Random I know, but it was cool. Kind of like the story of Christ's birth being read at Christmas.