NOT FOR SELF - BUT FOR THEE (Advent 16)

LUKE 1: 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (NIV)

“I am unworthy!” Can’t you hear Elizabeth say something like this? Today, the questions would more likely be, “Why wasn’t I chosen?” Or, “What do I get out of it?”

Can’t we lay “the me particle” aside this Season? Let us be more like Elizabeth during this Holy time. Take abundant joy in the blessing of others and what their shared touch by God will mean to all people. Let this Advent Season be a selfless time. Bury in your heart the sweet message, “It’s not about me.” In place of “me” put Love, for the first Christmas is the day Love came to earth. Rather than “solo,” remember that Christmas is the time when carols first began. Instead of “self” fill your heart with the thought that Christmas is when Life was reborn and a new hope began. Think not of “mine” but know that the birth of Christ is when salvation was made possible for everyone.

To firmly tether the meaning of Christmas to your heart, take a few minutes and write two or three statements about how the coming of the promised Messiah changed the whole world. Redefine the birth of Jesus; rethink what the world gained and lay aside your own personal expectations. Let Christmas come to everyone this year and let it begin with those whom we touch with a smile and a loving heart. Let us pray:

“Holy Father, you are more loving and pure than our finite minds can understand. You set the stars in place and still found it right that we should be gathered unto yourself. Holy is your name. We ask during this Advent Season that you touch our heart so clearly that the meaning of Christmas becomes truth for us. Forgive us when we think of ourselves first and put “me” in Merry rather than the Joy that Christ brought. Let a new thought overtake us, the new understanding that, for the joy that would lie before us, your son Jesus took the form of man and was born to bless the whole world. May we find joy in the realization that you blessed the whole world, and by your grace, you have even included us. In the name of Jesus, your son, we pray. Amen”
Doris
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”
Copyright 2011 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.