TOGETHER IN CHRIST COLLABORATIVE
Church of Saint Ann
West Bridgewater MA
Website: stannswb.com
St. John The Evangelist
East Bridgewater MA
Website: stjohneb.org
December 22, 2024
My Dear Friends in Christ,
Today we find ourselves in the “home stretch” of Advent. Christmas is in just a couple of days, and we take these “final days” (presuming the “street corner prophets” are wrong about the “final days”!) to reflect on this four week journey that we have undertaken. Our readings beautifully link the themes on which we have been contemplating and praying during our Advent Season, namely “promise”, “joy”, “repentance” and “transformation”.
In our first reading, the prophet Micah gives assurance to the Jews that God is faithful to His promises and that God will bring to prominence the “unimportant” village of Bethlehem. In doing this, God (through the prophet Micah) shows to us that no one, and nothing that one does, is insignificant. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that Jesus, in doing the will of the Father, shows us that through sacrifice and obedience we draw ourselves closer into the mystery of God. In our gospel, we have the encounter of two seemingly “insignificant” women highlighting the fact that nothing that we do in the name of God is ever insignificant. Mary and Elizabeth are powerful models of faith and faithfulness to us all, and their individual “fiats” (saying “yes” to God’s plan) are a reflection of the “yes” that we are called to give to God.
Advent has been, I hope and pray, a time when we prepare our minds, hearts and lives for the coming of Christ. Over the last four weeks this time of preparation has been, please God, not an insignificant journey in which we have been transformed by God’s grace and love. As we stand on the threshold of Christmas (both the Day and the Season), may we use these final days not just to “make a list and check it twice”, but also to continue to reflect on the goodness of God. As we approach the Christmas miracle of the Virgin Birth, may we come to see that Christ is already a part of our lives, even as we prepare to welcome Him once again. May this upcoming Christmas Day (and Season) be a time of prosperity, hope and joy. May we come to see the Christ Child as the One who comes into the world to set us free, so that when He comes in glory, He may find us watching, waiting and knowing that He is Emmanuel….”God With Us”!
A Blessed Advent to All,
Fr. Paul