Ta-da! The outside Christmas lights are turned on! The electricity is connected, and the brightness shines forth! It is that time of year when the yards display the excitement of Christmastime! The darkness of standard time and winter weather is brightened up with hopeful, twinkling lighting!
Aha! Christmas cards show up in the mailbox! More connections! Friends and family send seasonal greeting cards—perhaps even people we may not hear from often. We might get the year’s news from a printed-out letter nestled in the greeting card.
People who work for the same business or large company might get to connect with workers they don’t see every day by attending a wonderful Christmas party. Relatives might come from near and far for a scrumptious dinner. Things and people are coming together in one way or another.
In today’s liturgy, Luke 5:17-26, we read that a paralyzed man connected with Jesus via a stretcher lowered through the roof and was healed. Every person there was amazed! Doesn’t it make you just stop and think how wonderful our relationship—our connection—with Jesus Christ can be? Maybe some of our own “roof tiles,” our ways of thinking, have to be moved aside as we connect with the ways that Jesus lovingly wants us to walk with him.
It might be a good idea to reconnect with the Lord in a special way throughout this Advent season. We may want to pray with Psalm 16:7-9,11:
I bless the Lord who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the Lord ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
It is good to think about the times the Lord has counseled and comforted us. Did we thank him? Did we learn from him? We all need an openness to Jesus so he can counsel and comfort us. Advent is a good time for us to make sure we are plugged into the right outlet! Our source of power is our God who is forgiving, strong, generous, and loving.
It is so easy to get distracted this time of year. We get so busy. We indulge in lots of shopping, partying, and cooking. Let’s be sure to pray. Let’s stay united with our Savior.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
(Psalm 145:2-3)
†††
Photograph by Callum Blacoe on Unsplash.
The scripture passage is from The New American Bible, New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Sharon Krause is a RENEW volunteer whose writing has appeared in several resources for small-group faith sharing. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother residing in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, Connecticut. Over the years, she has served in many parish ministries.