Deacon Tom writes on…
A Wonderful Mystery
 |
| ocarm.com |
Deacon Tom writes ©
A Wonderful Mystery
St. Paul uses the one word that succinctly
summarizes this Advent Season and the most holy event it precedes, the birth of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The word he uses is “mystery”. The Mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery of God made
man is the mystery of God’s abiding love for us. Because of this love, “Christ emptied himself and took the form of
a slave, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7). Fully God, fully man, Jesus enters human history to reveal the fullness of God’s
love for all creation.
We read today of two people who were drawn into this
mystery of God’s self-revelation to the world. They are David and Mary. The
Prophet Samuel tells us that David wants to build a dwelling for God. But God
has other plans. Yes, David will establish a house for the Lord, but not in the
way that David envisioned it. The household that the Lord will establish
through David will be one that will last
forever. It will be a household that includes Joseph and Mary and that
finds its completion in Jesus who fulfills that promise by becoming a “dwelling place” for all.
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent our hearts are
yearning for the Divine to come to us. We turn away from the noise and clatter
to hear the deep silence within give way to the chant, “Come, come, Emanuel, come Emanuel”.
What is our heart’s desire
this Christmas day? What is it
that will make us complete? What
will it take to fill our emptiness?
My guess is that material things can’t come close to satisfying the
cravings of our human spirit. What we really want, what will satisfy our
innermost longings are the gifts that only God can give us, such as: calming
our restless spirits, consoling our loss of a loved one, filling us with an
inner peace, bringing us true joy, and, perhaps, a bit of happiness. We are
looking for help in to let go of old grudges and to jettison old hurts or
memories. We are looking for spiritual or emotional comforts and healings.
It is not possible to
imagine that the infant whose birth we await desires that we remain in the
constant state of hopelessness and despair. On the contrary, He came to set us
free from all that would keep us bound up. He came to proclaim, “release to the prisoners”. That includes
freeing us from our own self-imposed bondage(s).
May the mystery of God’s
love revealed in the Infant Jesus free us from all that keeps us from loving
Him and from loving one another.
May you celebrate a
wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with Christ’s Peace and Joy!
Deacon Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment