THE WORD IN ADVENT
December 24, 2021: Day in Preparation for Christmas
The Lord has visited God's people; the Lord visits God's people; the Lord continues to visit us: are we prepared to behold that visit of the Lord? We have been preparing all this while for this moment, to prepare ourselves for the visit of the Lord. The Lord continues to visit us and we can have three major dispositions.
The first is being totally unprepared, letting the moment pass by without really making any impact on us or on our daily lives. This could also take the milder version of being prepared somewhat, or partially, just to take note of those aspects that we wish to, those aspects that are convenient to us and those aspects that wouldnt demand too much from us.
The other disposition is to be over-enthusiastic about the visit and misinterpreting it from my own perspective and not from that true perspective that God wants. David made that mistake - in his over enthusiasm, he thought he would do a great favour to God by building a Temple for the Lord! Whoever can do a favour to God? But at times we think so, when we do something good, something noble, something admirable...as if it is all our merit. Awareness is to be mindful of the presence of God that results in whatever is true, noble and beautiful.
The third is the ideal disposition, that reminds me to be aware of the visit of the Lord, here and now, every day and every situation, all the days of my life. Celebration of Christmas every year is not merely a celebration of an annual event but a reminder of a disposition that I need to live all my life - mindful of the visit of the Lord and being prepared to receive the Lord, in events, persons, and experiences.
The Lord comes to visit us, let us prepare ourselves!