Deacon Tom writes
“Love Changes Everything”
Paul tells his brothers and sisters in Philippi that he
prays “…always with joy in my every
prayer for you”. He goes on to
tell them, “And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more
and more” [so you may] “discern what
is of value”. Paul expresses
that love is the most important virtue in his letter to the Corinthians in one
of his most famous quotes, “So faith,
hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love”
1 Cor
13:13. Love, as a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber expresses so
well, changes everything!
Advent is a time to embrace some of the changes we have put
off for too long, a time to change course and head in a new direction on roads
that have been leveled and filled in for us by the Holy One, highways and
byways that lead us on the paths of forgiveness, and healing, and holiness. To
turn our hearts and minds towards the Most High is to turn our backs to the
malls and Main Street bazaars and barkers that normally inordinately usurp our
time and treasures this time of year. If we truly love and discern what is of
value, this will not be a difficult choice to make”. For where our treasures
lie, there will our hearts be also.
Let us pray this Advent is different than all the past ones
and that we enter into the grace which enable us to seek those gifts that last
forever, that reflect the love that God has for us in giving us the gift of his
only Son: a generous heart, a deeper sense of compassion and empathy for those
who are hurting this year, physically, emotionally and spiritually, that God
will use us when and where he sees fit to be instruments of his peace.
Yes, “Love changes everything” and, when it does, “Nothing in the World will ever be the same”. Advent is that time of year when we
dare to dream that the forces of love can cast out the darkness in our world
and prepare our hearts for the King of Glory to enter within.
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
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