December 22nd Narrative Reading

Reader One​:​ 5 ​To understand the life of Jesus, I must first give you some background,
events that occurred when Herod ruled Judea for the Roman Empire.

Reader Two: Zacharias was serving as a priest in the temple in Jerusalem those days as
his fathers had before him. He was a member of the priestly division of Abijah, and his
wife, Elizabeth, was of the priestly lineage of Aaron, Moses’ brother.

Reader Three: They were good and just people in God’s sight, walking with integrity in
the Lord’s ways and laws. ​7 ​Yet they had this sadness.

R2 Due to Elizabeth’s infertility, they were childless, and at this time, they were both
quite old—well past normal childbearing years.

R1 As we tell the story today, we invite you to listen

R2 Listen and see yourself

R3 See yourself in this ancient story.

R1 8​ ​One day Zacharias was chosen to perform his priestly duties in God’s presence. ​9 ​He
had been selected from all the priests by the customary procedure of casting lots ​for a

ALL: once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

R1 to enter the sacred precincts of the temple. There he burned sweet incense, ​10 ​while
outside a large crowd of people prayed. ​11 ​Suddenly Zacharias realized

R3: Realized he was not alone:

R2: He was not alone.

R1: A messenger of the Lord was there with him. ​12 ​Zacharias was shocked and afraid, ​13
but the messenger reassured him.

R2: ​Zacharias, calm down!

All​: Don’t be afraid!

R2: Your wife is going to have a son, and you will name him John. ​14 ​He will bring you
great joy and happiness—and many will share your joy at John’s birth. This son of yours
will be a great man in God’s sight. He will not drink alcohol in any form;​ ​instead of
alcoholic spirits,​ he will be filled with the Holy Spirit

R1: Filled with the Holy Spirit

R3: The Holy Spirit from the time he is in his mother’s womb. ​16 ​Here is his mission:​ he
will turn many of the children of Israel around to follow the path to the Lord their God. ​17

(R3 and R2 turn to each other)

R2: Do you remember the prophecy about someone to come in the spirit and power of
the prophet Elijah; someone who will turn the hearts of the parents back to their
children;​ ​someone who will turn the hearts of the disobedient to the mind-set of the just
and good? Your son is the one who will fulfill this prophecy: he will be the Lord’s
forerunner, the one who will prepare the people and make them ready for God.

R3:​Zacharias:​ ​18 ​How can I be sure of what you’re telling me? I am an old man, and my
wife is far past the normal age for women to bear children. ​This is hard to believe!

R2:​ Messenger​ ​(sternly):​ ​ ​19 ​I am Gabriel, the messenger who inhabits God’s presence. I
was sent here to talk with you and bring you this good news. ​20 ​Because you didn’t
believe my message, you will not be able to talk—not another word—until you
experience the fulfillment of my words.

(Face forward)

R1: ​21 ​Meanwhile the crowd at the temple wondered why Zacharias hadn’t come out of
the sanctuary yet. It wasn’t normal for the priest to be delayed so long. ​22 ​When at last
he came out, ​he​ was making signs with his hands to give the blessing, but he couldn’t
speak. They realized he had seen some sort of vision.

R2: ​23 ​When his time on duty at the temple came to an end, he went back home to his
wife. ​24 ​Shortly after his return, Elizabeth became pregnant. She avoided public contact
for the next five months.
R3: ​Elizabeth:​ ​25 ​I have lived with being barren for all these years. Now God has looked
on me with favor. When I go out in public ​with my baby​, I will have joy!

R1 ​26 ​Six months later in Nazareth, a city in ​the rural province of​ Galilee, the heavenly
messenger Gabriel made another appearance.

R2: This time the messenger was sent by God ​27 ​to meet with a virgin named Mary, who
was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David himself. ​28 ​The
messenger entered her home.

(R1 and R2 Face Each Other)

R1: ​Messenger:​ Greetings! You are favored, and the Lord is with you!

R3 ​29 ​The heavenly messenger’s words baffled Mary, and she wondered what type of
greeting this was.

R1​: Messenger:​ ​30 ​Mary, don’t be afraid. You have found favor with God. ​31 ​Listen, you
are going to become pregnant. You will have a son, and you must name Him “Savior,” ​or
Jesus.​[​d​]​ ​32 ​Jesus will become the greatest among men. He will be known as the Son of
the Highest God. God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David, ​33 ​and He will reign
forever.

R2: Mary:​ ​34 ​But I have never been with a man. How can this be possible?

R1: Messenger:​ ​35 ​The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The Most High will overshadow
you. That’s why this holy child will be known, ​as not just your son, but also​ as the Son
of God. ​36 ​It sounds impossible,​ but listen—you know your relative Elizabeth has been
unable to bear children and is now far too old to be a mother. Yet she has become
pregnant, ​as God willed it.​ Yes, in three months, she will have a son. ​37 ​So the
impossible is possible with God.

R2: Mary​ ​(deciding in her heart):​ ​ ​38 ​Here I am, the Lord’s humble servant. As you have
said, let it be done to me.
(R1 and R2 Face forward)

R3: And the heavenly messenger was gone.

R1 ​39 ​Mary immediately got up and hurried to the hill country, in the province of Judah,
40-41 ​where her cousins Zacharias and Elizabeth lived.

R3: When Mary entered their home, Elizabeth felt her baby leap in her womb, and she
was filled

R2: Elizabeth was filled

R3: She was filled with the Holy Spirit.

(R1 and R3 Step down one step and speak to each other)

R1: Elizabeth​ ​(shouting)​:​ ​42 ​You are blessed, ​Mary​, blessed among all women, and the
child you bear is blessed! ​43 ​And blessed I am as well, that the mother of my Lord has
come to me! ​44 ​As soon as I heard your voice greet me, my baby leaped for joy within
me. ​45 ​How fortunate you are, Mary, for you believed that what the Lord told you would
be fulfilled.

R3: Mary:​ My soul lifts up the Lord! My spirit celebrates God, my Liberator!

For though I’m God’s humble servant, God has noticed me.
​

Now and forever, I will be considered blessed by *all generations.

R1 (whispering overlapping): all generations, all generations, etc….

R2: (whispering overlapping): all generations, all generations, etc...

R3: For the Mighty One has done great things for me; holy is God’s name!
From generation to generation*, God’s lovingkindness endures for those who revere
Him.

God’s has accomplished mighty deeds.

​

R1: The proud in mind and heart, God has sent away in disarray.

R2: The rulers from their high positions of power, God has brought down low.

R3: And those who were humble and lowly, God has elevated with dignity.

The hungry—

All: God has filled with fine food.

R1: The rich

All: God has dismissed with nothing in their hands.

R3: To Israel, God’s servant,

​

God has given help, as promised to our ancestors,

remembering Abraham and his descendants in mercy forever

(R1 and R3 return to the top step, face forward)

R2: Mary stayed with Elizabeth ​in Judea​ for the next three months and then returned to
her home ​in Galilee​.

R1: When the time was right, Elizabeth gave birth to a son. ​58 ​News about the Lord’s
special kindness to her had spread through her extended family and the community.

R3: Everyone shared her joy, ​for after all these years, she had a son!

R2 ​59 ​As was customary,​ eight days after the baby’s birth the time came for his ​naming.​

R1: Everyone assumed he would be named Zacharias, like his father.

(R2 and R3 Face each other)

R2: Elizabeth​ ​(disagreeing)​:​ ​60 ​No. We will name him John.

R3: Her Relatives​ ​(protesting)​:​ ​61 ​That name is found nowhere in your family.

(R2 and R3 Face R1)

R1:They turned to Zacharias and asked him what he wanted the baby’s name to be. He
motioned for a tablet, and he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was shocked ​by this
breach of family custom​. ​64 ​They were even more surprised when,​ at that moment,
Zacharias was able to talk again, and he shouted out praises to God.

(R2 and R3 face forward)

R3: A sense of reverence spread through the whole community. In fact, this story was
spread throughout the hilly countryside of Judea

R2:People were certain that God’s hand was on this child, and they wondered what sort
of person John would turn out to be when he became a man.

R3: When Zacharias’s voice was restored to him, he sang from the fullness of the Spirit:

R1 ​Zacharias:​ May the Lord God of Israel be blessed indeed!

For God’s intervention has begun,

and He has moved to rescue us, the people of God.

God will​ liberate us from our enemies

​

and from the hand of our oppressors!​[​e

Remembering the original vow He swore to Abraham,

​

from whom we are all descended.

God will rescue us from the grasp of our enemies

​

so that we may serve Him without fear all our days

In holiness and justice, in the presence of the Lord.

​

And you, my son, will be called the prophet of the Most High.
​
 For you will be the one to prepare the way for the Lord​[​f​]

So that the Lord’s people will receive knowledge of their freedom

​

through the forgiveness of their sins.

All this will flow from the kind and compassionate mercy of our God.
​

​A new day is dawning:

R2: A New day

R3: A new day dawns

R1: the Sunrise from the heavens will break through in our darkness,

And those who huddle in night,

​

R2: those who sit in the shadow of death

R3 ​Will be able to rise

R2: Rise and walk in the light,​[​g​]

R1: Walk in the light, guided in the pathway of peace.

R3: And John grew up and became strong in spirit. He lived in the wilderness, ​outside
the cities,​ until the day came for him to step into the public eye in Israel.

R1: Around the time ​of Elizabeth’s amazing pregnancy and John’s birth, the emperor in
Rome,​ Caesar Augustus, required everyone in the Roman Empire to participate in a
massive census

R3: Each person had to go to his or her ancestral city to be counted.

R2: Mary’s fiancé Joseph, from Nazareth in Galilee, had to participate in the census in
the same way ​everyone else did​. Because he was a descendant of ​King​ David, his
ancestral city was Bethlehem, David’s birthplace.

R1: Mary, who was now late in her pregnancy​ ​accompanied Joseph. While in Bethlehem,
she went into labor and gave birth
(Begin playing Away In the Manger)

R2: Mary gave birth

R3: She birthed her firstborn son.

R1: She wrapped the baby in a blanket and laid Him in a feeding trough because the inn

R2: because the inn

R3: The inn had no room.