Daily Reflection – 12/22/2025
Sacred Scripture
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb.
And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, “Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.” (Luke 1:46-56)
Reflection
Luke 1:5–25 offers us a scene both tender and astonishing. An elderly priest, Zechariah, faithfully serving in the temple, suddenly finds himself face‑to‑face with the angel Gabriel. The message is almost unbelievable: his wife Elizabeth—long barren, long past hope—will bear a son. And not just any son, but John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah. It is no wonder Zechariah hesitates. How could sterility become fertility? How could long‑settled disappointment suddenly blossom into promise?
Yet this is precisely the kind of miracle Advent invites us to expect.
We stand in a season where doubt need not have the final word. Unlike Zechariah, we already know how the story unfolds. We know that Christ will be born. We know the greatest gift has already been given. And yet, if we are honest, many of us enter Advent feeling spiritually barren. Perhaps our prayers this past year were thin and tired. Perhaps life unfolded in ways we did not expect, and disappointment quietly eroded our trust. Perhaps we, too, have asked, “How can this be?”
Advent answers: God can make it so.
This season is not merely a countdown to Christmas morning. It is an invitation to let God work a similar miracle within us—to move us from the sterility of routine faith to the fertility of renewed love for Jesus Christ. But that requires pause. It requires asking ourselves what Christmas truly means.
Many of us, when we say we are “looking for Christmas,” are really searching for our childhood—the effortless magic, the uncomplicated joy, the sense that wonder simply arrived on schedule. But we cannot go backward. We are adults now, with responsibilities, griefs, and complexities children cannot imagine. Christmas cannot be recovered as nostalgia.
But it can be rediscovered as faith.
Children believe—instinctively, wholeheartedly. They trust that gifts will come, that joy will dawn, that love will gather them close. And while we cannot reclaim childhood simplicity, we can reclaim childlike belief. What do we believe? We believe God made us. We believe God gave us His Son. We believe God brings life out of death and light out of darkness. We believe God is present in every circumstance, working always to bless, to heal, to give joy.
With such faith, Christmas can break through anywhere.
It may come in a stranger’s kindness, in a shared laugh during illness, in the quiet gratitude of someone touched by our generosity. It may come in the embrace of a spouse, or in a conversation with an old friend—just as Mary and Elizabeth found joy simply by meeting and naming God’s blessings.
Children need a month‑long crescendo to reach Christmas morning. Adults need only a moment—a moment when truth breaks through, when love becomes real again, when God touches the heart.
So if you have not yet “found” Christmas, do not be afraid to look. Not for the past, but for the God who is still breaking in. Now you know what you’re looking for.
Prayer of The Day
“Lord Jesus, you bring hope and restoration to your people. Restore and strengthen Christian family life today. Help me to love and serve my family. May your love rule in all my relationships and remove any barriers to peace and harmony.”
Daily Note
This season is not about recapturing childhood magic. We cannot go backward. We cannot recreate the effortless wonder of simpler days. But we can reclaim childlike faith—the faith that trusts gifts will come, that joy will dawn, that love will arrive.
What do we believe as adults?
We believe God made us.
We believe God gave us His Son.
We believe God brings life out of death and light out of darkness.
We believe God is present in every circumstance, seeking always to bless, to heal, to give joy.With such faith, Christmas can break through anywhere
So uplifting