Most of our
attention in the Christmas story goes to Mary and Joseph and Jesus, but my
reflection today was on the lives of two other families who experienced the
wonderful gift of new life. In the Book
of Judges the parents of Samson received the surprise announcement from an
angel (Judges 13:2-25) that’s repeated twice in the Gospel of Luke. Elizabeth and Zechariah met the same Angel
Gabriel who carried the same good news. “You
are chosen by God! You will bear a
child!” (Luke
1:5-25). Then, of course, Gabriel
visited Mary (Luke 1:29).
Advent and
Christmas are God’s ways of sending a powerful signal of hope to remind us that
life is stronger than death. Light is
more powerful than darkness. Good is
more powerful than evil. God’s blessings
will replace barrenness in the Kingdom that’s coming. That’s the message of Christmas—God proves to
us once again that nothing is impossible with God.
When we
begin to reflect in a prayerful way upon our lives, we begin to see that God
sends us so many people who prepare us for the coming of the Lord, Jesus. Some of us are so focused on looking for the
big "miracle," the extraordinary events that we think are God’s signs
of Love and Life, that we miss the ordinary miracles of everyday, the daily
signs of God’s Love and Life. Some of us
are like Zachariah, John’s father, so full of questions and doubts, that we
miss the true miracles that God keeps sending us as preparation for the coming
of Jesus in our lives.
The people
who prepare us for the coming of Jesus are all of the ordinary people who call
us to live faithfully, a life of faith, hope and love. Sometimes, these messengers come in the midst
of our darkness and they pull us out of the doldrums of hopelessness and
depression. Sometimes, these messengers
confirm our deepest convictions and longings, to be united with God and with
one another as we make our way through life.
God never tires of sending us messengers who prepares us to walk the Way
of the Lord and guide our feet into the way of Peace.
As we
prepare of the Feast of Christmas, the Miracle of the Incarnation, the Birth of
the Baby Jesus, let’s be attentive to all of the many messengers that God sends
us to prepare for that most Wonderful Gift of All, God’s Incarnate Love!
These are the days to look around and see the wonders of the Lord. They’re told in song and story; in the Scriptures, on the evening news, in family gatherings, and if we take the time, in the quiet reflections of our hearts.
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