Thursday, January 5, 2017

God's Wonderful Plan


Deacon Tom Writes,
“God’s Wonderful Plan”


As we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany today we recall God’s immense love for his people that gave rise to his taking upon himself our human natures so as to become one with us and claims us as his own. The Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer we hear today tells us how the Father “revealed the mystery of our salvation in Christ as the light of the nations…” This light dawned on that first Christmas day when Mary gave birth to her Son Jesus, who is both Son of God… and Son of Mary.

It was difficult for the Jews of Christ’s time to understand that God willed salvation for everyone; that salvation was not reserved for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob alone. True, God revealed himself through the Jewish people, but God intended Christ’s redemptive work to be shared by ALL.

This Feast we enjoy today celebrates the reality that God has not restricted or limited the saving work of Jesus Christ. It is through this revealing Christ to the world that God, again, in the words of the Preface, “you made us new by the glory of his (i.e. Christ’s) immortal nature.” What an encouraging thought in light of the many challenges we face today…that we can tap into this newness of life and love that Christ offers each of us.

None of us have the power to change things very much on a global scale. But, each of us can do something to show that we have been renewed and animated by Christ’s love and presence in our lives. We can do little things that make a big difference in the lives of the people we encounter every day. We can pray for one another; we can visit someone mourning the loss of a loved one. We can show that we have been renewed by Christ’s love whenever we visit a sick friend, welcome a stranger, give hope to the despairing, write a card or make a call to someone immobilized by old age or illness. We, ourselves, are renewed whenever we are animated as a member of the Body of Christ to be stewards of God’s grace or give witness to God’s transformative power over all things. We are renewed each time we realize God’s wonderful plan is to make all things new, even us.  Yes, our destiny is to be remade in the image of Christ… “to put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth”(EPH 4:24).

Have a wonder-filled New Year experiencing God’s love and sharing that love with others every day of the year!

Deacon Tom

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