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Readings for Las Posadas

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Readings for Las Posadas Readings for Las Posadas • Readings taken from the Barnabas Children’s Bible • As far as possible, get a different child to read a reading per day Tu-Th from Tuesday 1st December. Reading One: Preparing the Way When Nehemiah left God’s people in Jerusalem, they settled down to rebuild their lives. For a while they remembered how they had hated their time in exile and how much they wanted to come home. But time passed. Sometimes their lives were a struggle. Things were not always as easy as they had hoped. “People who don’t worship God seem to live happily,” they said. “Sometimes it seems pointless following God’s laws; worshipping God all the time is boring.” Malachi brought God’s words to his people. “I love you, just as I have always loved you from the beginning. Remember how a child obeys his father. I am your father.” “The priests have stopped leading you as they should,” said Malachi. “They have stopped obeying the laws God gave them. You have started to marry wives from the people who worship gods of wood and stone. You don’t keep the Sabbath as a special day of rest. You don’t trust God to provide for your needs. The time is coming when God himself is coming to live with you! Look out for his messenger who will prepare the way. The one who comes will come to judge, and he will come to save. He will be like a fire which makes gold and silver pure, removing all the impurities that spoil it. The people who serve him and do what is right will be happy on that day!” Nehemiah returned again to Jerusalem and tried to put right the things which God had seen and warned the people about through Malachi. After Malachi, there were no more prophets in the land for 400 years. Reading Two: The Angel in the Temple Zechariah was a priest living in the hill country of Judea. He and his wife Elizabeth had loved and served God all their lives. But God had not blessed them with children. Now Zechariah had been chosen to burn the incense in the temple- a duty that happened very rarely as the priest was chosen by lot. Outside the temple, in the morning sunshine, people were praying. Inside the temple where it was cool and quiet, Zechariah lit the incense. Then Zechariah realised he was not alone. Standing on the right-hand side of the altar was an angel. “Don’t be afraid,” said the angel. It was clear that Zechariah was terrified. “God has heard your prayers. Elizabeth will have a son called John, and God’s Holy Spirit will be with him in a special way. He will help people understand what God wants of them, so that they will be ready for him.” “Can this be true?” asked Zechariah. “Surely Elizabeth is now too old to have children.” “My name is Gabriel,” said the angel, “and I stand in the presence of God. Because you question the truth of the message I have brought you from God, you will not be able to speak until everything I have told you has come true.” Zechariah had been in the temple for longer than usual. The people outside began to wonder what had happened. When he came out, he tried to tell them about the angel. But Zechariah could not speak. He waved his arms about. The people could not understand him but they realised he must have had some sort of vision. Some time later, Elizabeth found she was expecting a baby. Reading Three: Another visit from Gabriel The angel Gabriel had another surprise announcement to make. He went to see Mary, who lived in Nazareth in Galilee. Mary was not much more than a girl but she was engaged to be married to Joseph, the local carpenter. “Mary,” said Gabriel. “God is with you!” Mary was afraid. She didn’t know what to think. “There is no need to be afraid!” said Gabriel. “You will bear a son and give him the name Jesus. He will be known as God’s son and will be a king who will reign forever!” “But I am not yet married,” said Mary. “How can I have a baby?” “The Holy Spirit will make this happen, for God is able to do anything. Another woman in your family, Elizabeth is now six month’s pregnant. Everyone said that she couldn’t have children, but with God, nothing is impossible.” “I will do anything God wants me to,” said Mary. “I am ready to serve him in this way.” Then Gabriel left Mary. Reading Four: Two special babies Mary thought about what the angel had told her. If Elizabeth was expecting a baby, perhaps she should go and visit her and talk to her about what had happened. Elizabeth lived in the hills. Mary prepared for her journey and went to stay with her. When she reached Zechariah’s house, Mary embraced Elizabeth. Then the baby inside Elizabeth’s belly jumped with joy. “God has blessed you!” Elizabeth told Mary. “And he will bless your baby too. You have been willing to do what God has asked of you-and you will be rewarded. But why am I so lucky to have you come to stay with me?” “God is very great!” said Mary, “I am no one, yet God has made me special by giving me amazing things to do. He has always been good to people who try to listen to him and follow his ways. He was good to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and is good to us now. God always chooses people who feel they have nothing to offer- and he makes them great. But he also sends away people who think they are too good or important to need his help. God is good.” Mary stayed in the hills with Elizabeth for three months before returning to her home in Nazareth. Reading Five: Zechariah speaks again Nine months had passed since Zechariah had seen the angel Gabriel in the temple. Now Elizabeth was ready to give birth to her baby. It was a little boy, just as Gabriel had told her. Elizabeth was overjoyed, and her friends and neighbours shared in her happiness. Eight days later, the priests were ready to call him Zechariah after his father but Elizabeth insisted he should be called John. “What does Zechariah say?” they said. Then Zechariah asked for a writing tablet so he could tell them-he had not spoken since he met the angel. “His name is John,” he wrote. As soon as he had finished writing, he was able to speak once more. The first words he spoke were in praise of God who had blessed them with this special child. Everyone was amazed. They couldn’t stop talking about these strange events. “God has not forgotten us, his people,” Zechariah said. “He is sending his chosen one to save us from our enemies. And he has chosen this child, my child John, to be the one who will prepare the way and tell us about the one who is to come, and to lead us into the way of peace.” Reading Six: Joseph, the carpenter Mary was happy to serve God and do all that he wanted of her. But Joseph was rather sad. Joseph knew that Mary’s baby was not his baby. But he cared about Mary. He did not want her to face bringing up her baby alone. He didn’t want people to be unkind to her. But should he marry her as they had planned? Then one-night Joseph dreamed a strange dream in which an angel appeared to him. “You need not worry about marrying Mary,” the angel said. “The Holy Spirit has caused the baby to grow inside her. She will have a baby boy and you must call him Jesus, because he will be the Saviour of the world.” Joseph needed no further reassurance to marry Mary. He did what the angel of the Lord had told him. Reading 7: The Roman census The months passed quickly and soon the time came for Mary’s baby to be born. It looked as though this would not happen in Nazareth, but in Bethlehem. The Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, wanted to tax his people. He ordered a census so that everyone had to go to the town of their ancestors to be counted. This meant that Joseph had to take Mary with him to Bethlehem, because he belonged to the family of King David. Mary and Joseph made their way to the village of Bethlehem in Judea. The roads were full of people travelling, all obeying the commands of their Roman ruler. Reading 8: The baby born in Bethlehem Bethlehem was bustling with people. Men, women and children had all come to be registered there. By the time Mary and Joseph arrived, it was already difficult to find somewhere to stay. Mary felt tired and weary; she was starting to feel the pains that meant her baby would soon be born. Joseph went from house to house looking for a room because the inn was full. Eventually they found shelter where the animals were stabled. That night, Mary gave birth to a baby boy, her first-born child. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and made a bed for him in a manger, because there was no room anywhere else. Reading 9: The Shepherd’s hear the news.
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