Daily Reflection – 12/18/18
Sacred Scripture
This is how Jesus Christ was born. Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.
While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him “Jesus” for he will save his people from their sins”. All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel which means: “God-with-us””. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do and he took his wife to his home. (Mt 1:18-24)
Reflection
A central message of Advent is in the last few lines of the gospel: “Emmanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us”’.
This is the true and deepest meaning of the Christmas time; worth our preparation. The baby in the manger, the child in his mother’s womb, the outpouring of the Holy spirit on Mary, is ‘God-is-with-us.”
Christmas offers the gift of faith; offers this gift with the very human realities of birth, joy, struggle, confusion and peace. Christmas is a gift given, and a gift to be shared, and sometimes a gift to be worked at.
In prayer we receive the peace and joy of the feast; in our kindness to others at Christmas we share his coming; and in our working in the world, or in the family and communities, for peace, reconciliation, forgiveness and other qualities of the message of the gospel, we bring Christmas alive.
We need this message very much in a world of war and terror; we need it too in the ordinary days of our lives. We can be truly grateful that the real Christmas gift is wrapped in the human body and lasts forever, for this life and the next.
Prayer of The Day
You wonderfully invite me to help you build your Kingdom. You want me to respond out of love. Let me appreciate that truthfully, and let me be generous with you.
Daily Note
Joseph believed in the divine message to take Mary as his wife and to accept the child in her womb as the promised Messiah. Like Mary, Joseph is a model of faith for us. He is a faithful witness and servant of God’s unfolding plan of redemption. A question for each of us to answer is : Are we ready to believe in the promises of God, even when faced with perplexing circumstances and what seems like insurmountable problems? God has not left us alone, but has brought us his only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us celebrate Christmas, the feast of the Incarnation, with joyful hearts and let us renew our faith and hope in God and in his redeeming work.
