Inspiration for your journey to God!

Category: Advent (Page 10 of 20)

The announcement of the birth of Jesus

announcement of the birth of jesus
The Annunciation

The announcement of the birth of Jesus is the Gospel reading we hear today on the day we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

committed

One great thing the Rejoice Advent series has made clear for me is the Holy Family’s knowledge of the Old Testament. I never thought about Joseph and Mary and all those New Testament “characters” studying the same words of Scripture that I do. But they did. They had them committed to memory and they LIVED them.

So when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, it didn’t take much for him to convince her of what was about to happen. She knew from her reading of Scripture that God could do the impossible. As a matter of fact, she most likely recalled Hannah exulting in the Lord in 1 Samuel 2 when she proclaimed the Magnificat.

a particular god

This Gospel also reminds me of how particular God is in His plans for us. Talk about planning ahead! Mary was God’s “favored one”, “full of grace.” She was prepared by God to receive this “Son of the Most High.” Not only that, but He used Elizabeth’s pregnancy as proof that what she questioned was actually possible.

somethings to ponder

Today, take a moment to ponder that powerful image of Mary and Joseph studying the same words of Scripture we read today! Blows my mind every time I think about it. Think about the trust, strength and obedience those words instilled in them. Is it doing the same for you? Are you reading and studying as they did?

Maybe you want to ponder the image of God’s particular plans for your life. What are they? What could they possibly be? Are you ready to say, as Mary did, “may it be done to me according to your word!”

God bless you!

Practicing what we preach is True!

practicing what we preach is True
John the Baptist

Practicing what we preach is True! What a conviction. In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist uses the same words Jesus used when commissioning the twelve. I’ve written before on the words “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It’s here if you want to check it out.

Matthew 3:1-12

In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea [and] saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:

“A voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'”

John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as your father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not ear good fruit will cut down and thrown into the fire.

I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his had. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Today I was convicted by the words “you brood of vipers” and at the same time I was encouraged by the words “he will clear his threshing floor.”

Practicing what you preach

Practice what you preach! That’s what came to me upon reading this Gospel. Anyone can say they are a follower of Christ or that they “believe” or “accept Jesus Christ.”(In John’s day it was “Abraham is our father.”) What are we doing about it though? Are we putting our money where our mouths are? If we’re followers, are we living as He lived?

great examples

So far this Advent, we’ve looked to Joseph and Mary as examples of how to live as true disciples of Christ. Today I urge you to look to John the Baptist. We’re told how he dressed and what he ate. That immediately made me think of our attachments. An attachment can be anything from something material, to a habit or even groups/people.

John was able to “go before the Lord” because he had no real attachments. His focus was preparing the way. Today we are called to do the same. Yet we fall short because of all the attachments that distract us from what really matters. What really matters is eternal life in union with God.

Mary is a powerful example of what it is to live humbly, Joseph a great symbol of obedience and strength and John an awesome example of what it means to live without attachments. How do we fare when it comes to humility, obedience, strong faith and detachment? See what I mean about being convicted when I read this Gospel?

Constantly working

Take courage though. We’re told He will clear His threshing floor. I took that to mean God will not give up on us no matter what. He will continue to work in us until we become what He created us to be. He’ll “clean us up” so to speak.

This became clearer to me when I read the story of creation in Genesis this morning. For the first time ever, it dawned on me that God is not satisfied with mediocre. He created the Earth and worked day after day to improve it. As a matter of fact, He’s still working on it.

Isn’t it comforting to think that He does the same for us? When He created us, like most artists, He had a vision of what He wanted. We fall short all the time but he’s just as determined to improve us as he is to improve the world.

God bless you!

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