Word to the Wise
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - Wednesday in the Third Week of Advent
[Isaiah 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25 and Luke 7:18b-23]Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?
John the Baptist expresses great hope in that question. There is the potential for great disappointment as well. What is important is that the question is asked at all! Most of us are familiar with Charles Dickens' great story, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, which has been enacted many times. If there is one line that everyone can recite from it, it is Scrooge's famous dismissal of Christmas: "Bah! Humbug!" Thank goodness many can remember the closing line from Tiny Tim: "And may God bless us, everyone!" It is sad that so many simply ignore the religious significance of Christmas! There is no question for them about whether or not the Christ child is "the one who is to come." There simply is no question at all to be asked! But what would we say to someone who came to our home and sincerely asked about the figure of the child in the crib scene? How would we explain it? Why is this child a source of hope to us? Advent can be a school of hope if we intentionally enter into the season and ask ourselves questions about the traditions from our faith in celebrating the season. It could mean a sense of "recovery" for us. When the wrapping paper is gathered up and the Christmas tree is taken down, are we willing to leave that crib set up till the season of Advent/Christmas/Epiphany is over in January? Do we dare to leave it up year round and realize that Christ may be born in us every day? We don't have to look for another! AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
82 ms
4
