Now after they had left, an angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his
mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is
about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the
child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the
death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through
the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” When Herod saw that he had
been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the
children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to
the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had
been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing
and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be
consoled, because they are no more.” When Herod died, an angel of the Lord
suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the
child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking
the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother,
and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling
over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after
being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made
his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the
prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”
Flight Into
Egypt
ELSHEIMER,
Adam
1609
Alte
Pinakothek, Munich
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/e/elsheime/egypt-e.html
Christmas,
children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.
~ Mary Ellen Chase
One must
still have chaos in oneself to be able to give
birth to a dancing star.
~ Friedrich
Nietzsche
On Monday,
our Painted Toe Society had a demonstration by Nancy Condit.
Tye with his
grandmother, Terrey, trying a new painting technique.
Sharon and
CV tried some things we had seen demonstrated.
Camille
Of course,
we also had a potluck!
Marsha,
Hanna
Hanna had a
luncheon in her lovely home.
Every nook
and cranny was decorated.
Anne, Barb,
Laurie, Marsha
Looking over Hanna’s lovely cards made from nature photos she
has taken.
Suzanne,
Vicki, and Woofie on Christmas Eve.
Christmas
Eve Candlelight Service.
I Heard the
Bells On Christmas Day*
written by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
music by
John Baptiste Calkin
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet the words repeat,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
I thought how as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roll'd along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bow'd my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."
'Til ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
first
published in 1863
December 26, 2010 First Sunday after
Christmas
Previous OPQs may be found
at:
http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm
* (A repeat
from 2006)
One of America's best known poets,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), contributed to the wealth of carols
sung each Christmas season, when he composed the words to "I Heard the
Bells on Christmas Day" on December 25th 1864. "Glory to
God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). The carol
was originally a poem, "Christmas Bells," containing seven stanzas.
Two stanzas were omitted, which contained references to the American Civil War,
thus giving us the carol in its present form. The poem gave birth to the carol,
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," and the remaining five stanzas
were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905), who also
gave us the memorable tune. When Longfellow penned the words to his poem,
America was still months away from Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court
House on April 9th 1865; and, his poem reflected the prior years of the war's
despair, while ending with a confident hope of triumphant peace.
-Tom Stewart
more ... http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/Edit_I.Heard.the.Bells.html
Agnus Day, by James
Wetzstein
Agnus Day
appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
http://www.kingcards.com/htdocs/holiday/xmas/3bears.htm
Isaiah 63:7-9
Psalm 148
Hebrews 2:10-18
Matthew 2:13-23