Reflection
As we move through these last few days of Advent, our Gospel readings speak of the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke, we read the account of the birth of John the Baptist, who would later prepare the way for Jesus. John’s birth was accompanied by remarkable occurrences: Zechariah, his father, made mute by the angel Gabriel, is able to speak after he affirms that the baby would be named John. The witnesses to all this, already amazed that Elizabeth, his mother, could conceive a child, begin asking each other, “What, then, will this child be?” They ask this, because it is obvious to them, as Luke puts it, that “the hand of the Lord was with him.”
We have seen, in recent events, how children can be traumatized by horrific deeds. We have seen that an adult child has allegedly murdered his parents. We may ask ourselves, “What, then, will our children be?”
To me, our challenge is to help our children recognize that the “hand of the Lord” is with them, too.
Yes, they need discipline, and yes, they need to realize that the world does not revolve around them, but they also need to know how much they are loved, by the people who care for them, and how precious they are in the sight of God.
In making room for Jesus in our hearts, may we nurture the lives of our children, “for surely the hand of the Lord” is with them.
