Scott Hahn [Inconnu(e)] - Joy to the World: How Christ’s Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does)

Praise for
Joy to the World
There are many reasons that we love the celebration of Christmas, but two stand out: it is a time for joy and it is a time for family. We rejoice in the birth of Jesus Christ and the salvation He came to bring us, and we take time to be with our families during this special season. In this wonderful book, Scott Hahn beautifully explains that the Christmas story is foremost a family story. You will learn about the deep Scriptural meaning of the Nativity of Jesus Christ and come to more fully appreciate the unique role played by the figures we know so well from the Gospels accounts. From Mary and Joseph to the Magi and shepherds, this book will help you discover anew the joy of Christmas! Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York Scott Hahn crosses boundaries that are sometimes used to separate history from Scripture and both from doctrine in order to give us a more adequate grasp of the boundaries God has crossed in the mystery of the Incarnation. This book is a joy to read and to ponder. Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago and author of God in Action Let Christmas come alive this year! With the help of his daughter, Hannah, who accompanied him to Bethlehem, Scott Hahn sees beyond the category of only for children storytelling to provide a narrative for people of all ages about the day the Word became fleshthe birth of Jesus. Joy to the World: How Christs Coming Changed Everything ( and Still Does ) is great Christmas reading, especially for families. Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D., Archbishop of Louisville and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops I greatly enjoyed reading Scott Hahns Joy to the World . In a spirit of joyful discipleship and with his command of Scripture, he leads us step by step into the heart of Gods plan for the worlds salvation and thus into the heart of the New Evangelization. What a wonderful resource for those seeking to deepen their discipleship and those seeking truth and love in their lives. Most Reverend William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore Let Scott Hahn, one of Catholicisms most talented biblical scholars, take you more deeply into the Christmas story. In a work both scholarly and accessible, he answers the most common questions about the story of Jesuss birth, opens up some all-important Gospel passages, and overall, helps us understand why the birth of a poor child 2,000 years ago has the power to change our lives today. James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage Scott Hahn welcomes the reader to see various levels of the importance of Christmas, using new developments in scholarship that move the reader away from cheap and easy skepticism toward the abundant data from Scripture, Jewish sources, and pagan historians. While skeptics consider it an accomplishment to question the Bible in order to make you doubt, Hahn leads readers to think carefully, meditate more profoundly, pray more earnestly, and discover joy in the world. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, author of How to Listen When God Is Speaking The danger of the familiar is that we can walk all our lives right past that which God has given to draw us closer to Him. In Joy to the World , Scott Hahn helps us slow down and rediscover, as if for the first time, the life-changing gift of Christmas through the lens of the family. Marcus Grodi, president of the Coming Home Network Pope Francis says we cant have pickled pepper Christians. Instead it is our joy that will attract people to the Church. In Joy to the World , Scott helps us get closer to the source of that joy with a beautiful journey through time and history, a journey taking us back to where it all began. This book reminds us that Christmas should be celebrated in our hearts all year long. Joy to the world indeed. Teresa Tomeo, author of Gods Bucket List In the Incarnation of the Word made flesh, joy entered the world at Christmas and continues its merry invasion of our darkness with each celebration of the Eucharist. Dr. Scott Hahn, with his customary blend of biblical erudition, plain English, and heartfelt love for Jesus Christ is a glad herald, a deep thinker, an accessible teacher, and a loving guide into this profound and happy mystery. May his tribe increase! Mark P. Shea, author of By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition ALSO BY SCOTT HAHN Angels and Saints: A Biblical Guide to Friendship with Gods Holy Ones Consuming the Word: The New Testament and the Eucharist in the Early Church The Lambs Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the Trinity Lord, Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession Swear to God: The Promise and Power of the Sacraments Letter and Spirit: From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace: My Spiritual Journey in Opus Dei Understanding the Scriptures: A Complete Course on Bible Study Understanding Our Father: Biblical Reflections on the Lords Prayer A Father Who Keeps His Promise: Gods Covenant Love in Scripture Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism with Kimberly Hahn Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians with Mike Aquilina Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots Many Are Called: Rediscovering the Glory of the Priesthood Catholic Bible Dictionary , General Editor

Copyright 2014 by Scott Hahn

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Image, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, New York, a Penguin Random House Company.
www.crownpublishing.com

IMAGE is a registered trademark and the I colophon is a trademark of Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hahn, Scott.
Joy to the world : how Christs coming changed everything (and still does) / Scott Hahn. First Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
1. ChristmasMeditations. 2. Jesus ChristNativityMeditations.
3. Catholic ChurchDoctrines. I. Title.
BV45.H28 2014
232.92dc23
2014034025

ISBN 978-0-8041-4112-3
eBook ISBN 978-0-8041-4113-0

Cover design by Jessie Sayward Bright
Cover art: Bridgeman Art Library

v3.1_r1

To Holy Mary, cause of our joy (Luke 1:3945) The history of salvation is not a small event, on a poor planet, in the immensity of the universe. It is not a minimal thing which happens by chance on a lost planet. It is the motive for everything, the motive for creation. Everything is created so that this story can exist, the encounter between God and his creature. Pope Benedict XVI, address at the opening of the 12th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, October 6, 2008

C ONTENTS

CHAPTER

A LIGHT GOES ON IN BETHLEHEM

I T WAS EARLY SPRING . Christmas was more than half a year away, but the crowd of pilgrims around us sang O Little Town of Bethlehem and O Come, All Ye Faithful. Thats the year-round custom at the Holy Lands Basilica of the Nativity.

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!

As many as two million visitors pass through the little town every year. Almost all arrive as pilgrims to venerateor tourists to gawk atthe place where Jesus was born. They stand in long lines to pause for a brief moment before the site where Mary and Joseph took shelter and the field where angels announced the birth to shepherds. There is time for a quick prayer, perhaps, before the monk who serves as custodian urges you to make way for the next person in line.

To the intensely devout or the intensely curious, a moment is enough. Its worth the occasional anti-Christian slur called at you in a city that is now predominantly Muslim. Its worth the hostilities you might have to witness in a city that has been a combat zone in recent memory. (The Basilica of the Nativity was occupied and besieged in 2002.) Its certainly worth the inconvenience of the wait in line.

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