Hebrews 10: 5-10
Luke 1: 39-45
Now I do not claim to be psychic, but I am willing to bet
that every child here is thinking “One more day till Christmas!!” And there must be many adults here thinking;
“Oh my goodness, only one day till Christmas!”
We are thinking of the presents we still have to buy and wrap, the food
supplies we have to buy for Christmas dinner, and how much time we need to
prepare it. Then all those personal crises
seem to get magnified, during the Christmas season, so much pressure and
tension.
Let us just for moment, stop, try to still our minds and our
hearts, and listen for the voice of the Lord; feel his Presence, realize that
we are about to celebrate something wonderful that has happened in the past, is
happening now, and will continue to happen into the future. St. Elizabeth knew something awesome was
about to happen, she had already experienced God’s power in her life, when, in
her late age, she was able to become pregnant.
One could say that she was already sensitive to the power of the Holy
Spirit, so that when she heard Mary’s voice and felt her child leaped in her
womb, not move or kick, but leaped, she knew something more powerful than her
miracle was occurring. She realized
instinctively that Mary was carrying the Son of God.
God was intervening again in the lives of His people, the
children of Israel,
as He did during the time of Moses. The
promised Messiah was coming, not with great sound and fury, but as a little
child, born of a simple Jewish, peasant woman.
Yet, He will become a Shepherd of His People, not only the people of Israel, but of
all nations, caring for them, healing them, and guiding them.
It is this that we celebrate in a couple of days, this great
miracle, and this great act of love by the Father. It is an act of love that continues
today. We continue to celebrate
Emmanuel, “God is with us.” Jesus Christ
is present as the Word of God, He is present in the Eucharist, and He is
present within each of us when we open our hearts to Him. And He cares for us as a shepherd, comforting
us, and guiding us, bringing us back to the Father.
In the time that is left, I encourage all of us to make some
quiet space in our day, so that we can hear the voice of our Shepherd, and in
hearing that voice we will leap for joy.
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