Reflection
As we move through Advent we remember that Christmas is not only a celebration of the birth of Jesus, it is also the expectation that each of us will bring his presence into our world. Our nation this advent is in a sorry state. Not only are we enmeshed in a pandemic, but we are also struggling with a pandemic of spiritual proportions. We seem to be lost in the inability to separate truth from falsehood, freedom from responsibility, values from prejudices, and civility from crass behavior. In the midst of all this, we cannot just wrap our gifts and share them with special people on Christmas day. Rather, the gifts of love, compassion, and the meaning of the gospel are our responsibility to live and ours to bring into the world each day. As followers of Jesus we cannot support the chaos and ugly behavior. Christmas is the beginning to embrace truth and integrity. Our commitment has to be to live as he did and infuse that spirit into our world.
Prayer
Come Emmanuel
Action
What are the gospel gifts you can bring to the world? How specifically can you do this?
Suggested Reading
The Spirit of the God is upon me, for I have been anointed to bring good news to the poor. I have been sent to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
Isaiah 61:1
A baptized person who does not feel the need to proclaim the Gospel, to announce Christ, is not a good Christian.
Pope Francis
Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.
Pope Paul VI
We must all try to be preachers through our deeds.
Saint Teresa of Ávila
We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.
Saint Francis of Assisi
The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.
John Calvin
The world needs to see Christians burning, not with self-righteous fury at the sliding morals in our country, but with passion for God.
Kevin DeYoung
Let God be the Judge. Your job today is to be a witness.
Warren Wiersbe
One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Every day you are witnessing. What are you witnessing to? Your witness is the total package of your attitudes, character, and actions. It does not lie.
Winkie Pratney
Stands must be taken. If I am to respect myself I have to search myself for what I believe is right and take a stand on what I find. Otherwise I have not gathered together what I have been given; I have not embraced what I have learned; I lack my own conviction.
Hugh Prather