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Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
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he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
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Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
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for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
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He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
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And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
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“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
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The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
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He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
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“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
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But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
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Mary’s Song
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
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Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
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Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
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“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
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And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
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An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
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Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
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When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
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Jesus Presented in the Temple
When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
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(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”),
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and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
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It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
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“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
