Scripture:
Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12
Reflection:
See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Isaiah 60:2
Sounds like the world today, doesn’t it? There is so much darkness in our world – wars, hunger, homelessness, sex-trafficking, divorce, suicide, child and elder abuse . . . the list goes on and on. The news doesn’t help. Rather than show inspirational stories, they seem to dig up the worst to show us – in living color no less. I rarely watch the news anymore because it’s so depressing.
A song comes to mind that we used to sing with the high school youth group years ago: “Jesus is the answer for the world today.” It’s the profound, simple truth. Our world needs Jesus!!! We all need Jesus! As the wise men went to pay homage to the babe in Bethlehem, so we too can go to the stable and worship Him. At church we can kneel at the nativity scene and reflect with wonder how God became one of us so long ago to bring us near to Him. And when the Christmas decorations have been put away for the year, we can bow before Him in the stable of our hearts and acknowledge our great need of a Savior, of our need for truth and goodness and light. And as we bow low, He will lift us up.
He will give us the hope and courage we need to help change the darkness about us. We are His hands and feet today. We can share the good news. We can let the light shine through us to make a difference. As 2016 begins, let’s open our hearts once again to the Lord’s will for our lives. Let us say “Yes!” to spending time with Jesus each day so that He can direct our steps and we can all help usher in the Kingdom here and now.
Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Janice also leads women’s retreats and recently published her second book: God IS with Us. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].