HOPE, LOVE, JOY & PEACE

Christmas 2015

Christmas means Hope: the Hope of a second chance, an endless second chance that God gives me. God has never expected me to deserve God's mercy! How blessed am I! To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God (Jn 1:12). That is Hope! I receive hope as I receive the Lord today!

Christmas means Love: God so loved the world that he sent his only son (Jn 3:16). There is no end to the Love that God has for me. The Mercy of God abounds all around me! When I receive this love, when I truly receive this love, I will be transformed into love. If I am not transformed into love, I have not received that love. Today the task for me is to receive that love truly... become merciful, as merciful as the loving Father.

Christmas means Joy: The joy of the Saviour...the joy that cannot be taken away from me, the joy that I have in coming to understand that I am never alone. That your joy may be complete (Jn 15:11). A joy that comes from the right perspective to life, right priorities in life and the Lord's principles for life : a life of true mercy and forgiveness.

Christmas means Peace: The Lord be with you is synonymous to Peace be with you! Where the Lord is there is peace. Let our hearts not be troubled (Jn 14:27), for the Lord is always with us. That is the message of Christmas, that the Lord came to be with us, to stay with us, to live amidst us, to dwell among us. Peace comes where Mercy resides.

THE WORD IN ADVENT - 4th THURSDAY

The Advent Task: To Behold the fulfillment of the promises

24th December, 2015

2 Sam 7: 1-5,8-12,14,16; Lk 1: 67-79

You need special eyes to behold the fulfillment of the promises of the Lord. At times we implore the Lord for something and we see it doesn't come immediately. But let us be very clear, the Lord answers every query: the Lord either says yes and gives, or says no and forbids, or says wait and responds at the right time. But when it delays, we tend to lose our focus and be at our own business. We lose our sight so much that we are not prepared to behold them when the promises of the Lord are fulfilled... we are still busy complaining about something else.

We are on the last day before Christmas, Christmas a moment when humanity beheld the eternal promises of the Lord, the promise to be amidst us. Today let us take some moments off our busy preparations and sit in reflection for a while, going over our lives thus far and thanking the Lord for all the promises that have been fulfilled in our lives. That would be a beautiful preparation in itself to behold the Child of Eternal Promises tomorrow!