The Gospel reading for today is Luke 1:39-45. It is the story of Mary visiting Elizabeth when each were pregnant. Of course, Mary was pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth with John the Baptist. At Mary;s greeting to Elizabeth, the fetal John leapt with joy.
Joy. It is not momentary happiness; rather, it is the enduring belief in God's promise of a better world. In a way, joy and belief are synonymous. If we can believe in God's promise, and can hold onto that belief, we find joy. Easy to say, but very, very hard to do. At least for me.
I pray a prayer each day that talks about being saturated with God's presence, love, joy, and peace. I hope that I am so saturated with these gifts from God that they flow back out to everyone I meet.
But please allow a brief minute for me to explain what I think each of these gifts are. Presence: being there for someone - just being there. Love: engaging in acts of service and caring. Joy: belief in God's promise. Peace: the state of relief and equanimity that comes when we have joy.
May God bless all of you, and all of His people.
- The Older Brother
No comments:
Post a Comment