Good news of great joy

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Christmas Day, 2023. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Up first, on The World and Everything in It: The Christmas story.

On Christmas morning, families often read the account of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2. This year, we asked our WORLD families to join that tradition: Reading the story of Christ’s birth with their spouses, siblings, kids, or grandkids. So, some of the voices you’ll recognize. Others will be new.

Special thanks to the Browns, Lewises, Hendersons, Schmitts, Reichards, Watterses, and Freires.

REICHARD: This account includes scripture from Old Testament prophecy, plus a bit from the gospel of Matthew with some animal sounds thrown in for good measure.

KIM HENDERSON/NARRATOR: Many years ago, God promised that he would send a savior to the earth. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign,” can you start there?

GRANDCHILD/PROPHET: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

HENDERSON/NARRATOR: Alright, and then we’ve got those prophets there. Does anybody know these words? “For to us a child is born to us is given, and the government shall be upon his—

GRANDCHILD: Name!

HENDERSON: No, shoulder! And his name shall be called—

GRANDCHILD: Jesus!

HENDERSON: Well, you’re right, it is Jesus. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

JENNY LIND SCHMITT: “Should I…? No, I’m Prophet 3. Go ahead.”

PROPHET #2: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

JLS/PROPHET #3: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

MARY REICHARD/NARRATOR: But nobody knew when that savior would come. Then, after hundreds and hundreds of years waiting, God sent a messenger to announce the savior’s coming.

You keep eating your fish.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said…

AUDIO: [Baby noise]

AMY LEWIS/NARRATOR: And he came to her and said…

XAVIER LEWIS/GABRIEL: “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

NARRATOR: But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her,

XAVIER LEWIS/GABRIEL: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

NARRATOR: And Mary said to the angel,

AMY LEWIS/MARY: How will this be, since I am a virgin?

NARRATOR: And the angel answered her,

XAVIER LEWIS/GABRIEL: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.

NARRATOR: And Mary said,

AMY LEWIS/MARY: Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.

NARRATOR: And the angel departed from her.

MARY REICHARD/NARRATOR: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. [Baby talking] Really? “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

STEVE WATTERS/NARRATOR: Now in those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. [laughter; Kwai-rinius!]

TEDDY WATTERS/NARRATOR: And everyone went to his own town to register. So 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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

WESLEY BROWN/NARRATOR: And there was no room for them to stay in the house so they had to sleep with the animals. The cows. What does a cow say?

BECKETT: Moo!

WESLEY: Here’s a sheep; what does a sheep say?

BECKETT: Aaaaa!

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN/NARRATOR: 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.

MARY REICHARD: And that’s where the baby was born. They named him Jesus. Can you say Jesus?

ELLA: Jesus!

LEWIS NARRATOR: And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. [Various sheep noises] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. [Yelling] And the angel said to them:

ANGEL: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

SCHMITT NARRATOR: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

MULTIPLE ANGELS: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

EMMA FREIRE/NARRATOR: When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,

EMMA FREIRE/SHEPHERD: “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

FREIRE DAUGHTER/NARRATOR: And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN/NARRATOR: Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said…

WESLEY BROWN/SIMEON: “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.