Sales! Sales! Sales! That’s all we are supposed to keep thinking about as we try to find wonderful Christmas gifts for the people we love. We see decorations displayed in stores and neighborhoods. Lights everywhere! Spend your money! Spend your time shopping! Keep looking! Give your attention to the holiday festivities! It is all exciting and colorful!
Yesterday, we celebrated the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe. It would be spiritually beneficial for us to focus on our loving King, Jesus, who teaches us about a different kind of giving of gifts and attention. Certainly, we use material objects as gifts to show our love, but our personal talent—gifts of understanding, hospitality, sense of humor, and gentle solicitous listening—are valuable ways to show others we care about them. Jesus is our perfect example of gift-giver! Our eyes should be on him!
We might think of kings in the context of pageantry, wealth, and spectacle. Our Christ, the King, is a teacher, a loving chastiser, the Son of God who willingly gave his life for the redemption of all of us. His self-sacrificing love for us can sustain us even in the bleakest of times, but we have to keep our busy eyes on him. Every now and then, it is a good idea to check our priorities. Take time to visit his throne room.
One of the best things Jesus taught us is to trust in his Father’s will. At this busy time of the year, let’s be sure to take time to pray to our King, Jesus. Let’s ask for his help in following His Father’s will for us, even when it seems very difficult.
The Scarecrow
The rabbit approached the scarecrow:
“Won’t you teach me how to dance.
I watch you here in the cornfield.
Such moves cannot be by chance,”
The scarecrow replied quite modestly,
“Our Creator is my teacher.
He sends the songbirds with music,
And the winds to set the meter.
I’ve learned to rest upon this pole,
To stay ready day and night,
I trust in the Master’s direction,
In this Spirit-filled dance of life.”
†††
Image: Silhouette drawing by Carus. Postcard from Berlin, Germany, 1910–1915. Public domain.
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.