Daily Reflection – 12/21/18
Sacred Scripture
During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:39-45)
Reflection
Today, we read of The Visitation of Mary to her cousin, Elizabeth. Joy was in Elizabeth’s soul and face, and in the baby leaping in her womb. Her words travelled through time: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear.”
There is many a lesson here but the one I would comment on is that we need to recognize that joy and faith are inseparable. “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me” The joy of God and Mary spread all over the world. It is ours as well.
To allow it within us, we only need to open ourselves through our faith to God’s constant influence in our life, while walking our path with the Infant, with Mary who has believed, and by holding St. Joseph’s strong and enamored hand. Whether they be earthen paths, asphalt, cobblestones or muddy roads through, every Christian always carries two dimensions of faith: union with God and service to others.
Elizabeth’s words and actions invite us to reflect on our own openness to the ways that God chooses to act in our world. What is God doing through unexpected people in our society today? Where is God at work through people whom our neighbors and fellow church members often exclude or treat as shameful? Will we listen to the Spirit’s prompting when the bearers of God’s new reality show up on our doorstep? May we, like Elizabeth and Mary, trust that God is coming to save and free us. May we, like them, give thanks that God has taken away our shame and then respond to God’s love by welcoming the shameful. May we, like them, become a community that supports each other as we hope and wait.
Prayer of The Day
Lord Jesus your mother wants me to learn from her example. She inspires me to bring you to others this Christmas season. There are people who desperately need you in their lives, who need your forgiveness, who hunger for your love and presence, perhaps without even knowing it. My loving relationship with you is never meant to be kept to myself; it is a gift meant to be shared. Your mother’s example shows me the way to live Advent well and challenges me to be a missionary by bringing you to the world.
Daily Note
Elizabeth’s words and actions invite us to reflect on our own openness to the ways that God chooses to act in our world. What is God doing through unexpected people in our society today? Where is God at work through people whom our neighbors and fellow church members often exclude or treat as shameful? Will we listen to the Spirit’s prompting when the bearers of God’s new reality show up on our doorstep?
