Making plans, preparing for upcoming events, getting ready! June is a popular month for parties and big celebrations. Graduations, weddings, Father’s Day! Wow! Bake those cakes! Invite those guests! Thoughtfully purchase those special gifts! Despite the problems and challenges, of daily life, we can take time to be joyful about successful achievements and optimistic plans. For a while, we can put worry and upset behind us and concentrate on outright celebration! We can break out of the humdrum to play drums of happiness! Bring it on!
In the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we read of Mary’s visit to her relative, Elizabeth, who was soon to deliver a son. It is likely that Mary was there to help Elizabeth prepare to be a mother in her old age. We hope it was a good, stress-free visit to celebrate the upcoming blessed event. Even the baby in Elizabeth’s womb was jumping for joy.
At today’s liturgy, we read of the birth and naming of Elizabeth’s newborn son (Luke 1:57-66, 80.) Despite expectations, the child is named John, instead of Zechariah after his father. Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and foretold that his son would be a prophet who would prepare and guide people for salvation through the Lord. What good news! (Luke 1:67-79)
Our question for today is: How are we preparing ourselves and those around us to welcome Jesus into our lives every day? Jesus is not a one-time visitor. We can prepare for and welcome our Savior into our world each day in special ways. We can help others encounter Christ by sharing personal faith stories. Looking back at our life experiences, we see instances of God’s blessings in our lives. Don’t keep them a secret!
We don’t have to buy gifts for the celebration of Christ in our lives, but, instead, we acknowledge and use the wonderful gifts God has given us to spread the good news of Jesus. We have many gifts, including, for example, the ability to express ourselves well by writing, conversing; our good example; gently teaching little children; artful creations, and faith-sharing. We don’t have to prepare celebration foods, but we can dish out scripture-inspired food for thought. Come Holy Spirit!
A good way for us to prepare for personal encounters with Jesus by remembering who is really in charge. Psalm 139 is helpful, so let’s pray with a few of its verses:
O Lord, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know the whole of it. (Verses 1-4)
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Image: Eastern Christian fresco of the Visitation in St. George Church in Kurbinovo, North Macedonia. Unknown artist, 1191.
The psalm is from the New American Bible, Oxford University Press, New York, 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. Over the years, she has served in many parish ministries.