When he was at table with them, he took the bread. He blessed the bread, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him!(Luke 24:13-35)

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Cherished moments

The season of Advent is about longing and desire and joy and recognition.  It’s a time of man’s longing.  But it also reflects the longing of the Lord for His beloved.  In Isaiah the tone ranges from a soft-spoken plea, to a desperate moan, to an angry roar.  The Lord pleas for recognition and relationship: “I am the Lord, your God, who grasp your right hand.“  “Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel,” reveals a heightened level of desperation.  The Lord begs for recognition in all that He’s done for His people.  The Lord is desperate for the attention of His beloved.  The Lord is desperate for our attention as well (Isaiah 41:13-20).

In the gospel we read, “the least born into the kingdom of God is greater than he”(John the Baptist).  The tone is quieter, gentler.  But the message is just as desperate, just as true and just as immediate.  We’re all called into the kingdom.  The Lord is calling to each one of us to be in relationship with Him.  In our joys and in our sorrows the Lord continues to long for us (Matthew 11:11-15).


When I was very young, I developed a strategy to forestall the final good night at bedtime, especially when it was Dad putting me to bed, because I didn’t get to see him much; he worked night shifts, so he was still sleeping when I got up for school, and he was at work when I got home.  On those nights I was lucky to have him put me to bed, I would snuggle into my pillow and just as my dad was turning out the lights and heading out the bedroom door, I would ask something (usually) irrelevant like, “Dad, how do you make houses?“  What I really wanted was just a few more moments of his time, attention and being with him in the intimacy of the relationship.  And it worked.  He would return to the bedroom and we would both relish the added few moments of our familial intimacy.


Remembering the wonder, joy and deep fulfillment of those all too few moments makes me wonder what is the Lord doing now, today, to bring me into a deeper relationship with Him?  What are my joyful cherished moments with the Lord?  When was the last time, I turned back in joy and wonder, or in sorrow, as I was ready to walk on and indulged myself in the Lord?  Who, what, when, where are my private invitations to be with the Lord; to enjoy the richness of our unique relationship?

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