Christmas means not just recalling Christ's first coming and preparing for His second coming. It also means receiving a new coming of Christ into our lives. Many of us have already asked Jesus to come into our hearts and be Lord of our lives. We have also experienced other comings of Christ, but this Christmas the Lord will come again to us in a personal and new way.
However, it can be difficult to recognize Christ's coming. At His first coming, Jesus came in the womb of a teenage girl from Nazareth and hardly anyone recognized Him. Jesus often comes to us in the poor, hungry, ill, or imprisoned. Even so, we may not recognize Him and later ask Him: "When did we see You hungry or thirsty or away from home or naked or ill or in prison?" (Mt 25:44) John the Baptizer's disciples weren't sure whether Jesus' coming was the coming of the Messiah, so "John sent them to ask the Lord, 'Are You "He Who is to come" or are we to expect someone else?' " (Lk 7:19) Jesus responded: "The blind recover their sight, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, dead men are raised to life, and the poor have the good news preached to them. Blest is that man who finds no stumbling block in Me" (Lk 7:22-23).
Jesus' Christmas coming will either result in our receiving Jesus' love in even greater ways or stumbling over Someone we don't even notice. Don't trip.
| PRAYER: | Father, may I not trip over Jesus. |
| PROMISE: | "Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop it down." –Is 45:8 |
| PRAISE: | When volunteering at the food pantry, Mary practices seeing Jesus in those who come in need. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College