Christmas Gospel Readings: Luke 2

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Christmas Gospel Readings: Luke

The Magnificat

And Mary said,

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

Christmas Gospel Readings: Matthew


Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

All Things Ill Considered.

Julian Sanchez at Reason - Hit and Run has a nice little piece on conservative window dressing at NPR. The comments that follow the essay hit the nail squarely on the head about the standard fare on NPR's news programs All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

The Cycle of News Topics on ME and ATC (many courtesy of the thoughtful commentators on Sanchez's essay):

• The unfairness of the capitalist system
• The danger to the environment posed by the capitalist system
• The danger to children posed by the capitalist system
• Continuing racism in the US
• Continuing sexism in the US
• The plight of illegal aliens in the US
• Scandals in the (Catholic) Church, mostly about sex
• The latest threat posed by fundamentalist Christians
• Scandals of Republican politicians
• Too little funding for public education
• Inadequate healthcare
• "Progressive" art (almost always the last piece in the morning)
• Israeli persecution of Palestinians
• Crisis in the US Military (scandal, fraud, abuse, some-ism)

Write each of these on a 3x5 card, arrange them in any order you want, and voila! An instant Morning Edition program!