Hope is found in the light of Christ

Good News Reflection
Monday of the 1st week of Advent
November 29, 2010
Available as a Good News Ministries Podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts

Today's Readings:
Isaiah 4:2-6
Ps 122:1-9
Matthew 8:5-11
http://www.usccb.org/nab/112910.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_11_29.mp3

Hope is found in the light of Christ

This Advent, the Good News Reflections are focusing on the four gifts from God that are represented by the four candles on our Advent wreaths: hope, peace, joy, and love.Jesus is the Light of the World, represented by the candlelight that grows brighter as we get closer to Christmas.

Jesus commissioned us to share the gifts of God by spreading his light. We become light so that when others observe us, they see Jesus. Together, connected to each other in Christian community, we become a string of lights like the ones that will decorate our Christmas trees.

Whenever you see festive Christmas lights adorning the houses in your town or hanging inside your home, let them remind you that we are all connected to each other through Christ, and that when everyone's light bulbs are glowing, the world is a much cheerier place. This is the source of our hope in a dark and anxious world.

The problem is: not everyone’s lights are lit. Gaps on the string are quite noticeable. How bright is your own light?

December is such a busy, hectic month! Be sure to slow down and take time for yourself and your spiritual needs. How close does God feel when you're busy with the decorations, baking cookies, partying, and shopping for gifts? Don't let the busyness of December interfere with your preparations for the true meaning of Christmas.

For today's readings, let's apply the metaphor of the string of lights to what happened in the Gospel. Think of Jesus as the one who turns on the electricity to make our lights glow. The centurion is teaching us that Christ's command is enough to flip the switch. We need nothing more than his say-so.
The sun goes down, your home gets dark, and your world be-comes bleak. Jesus says "yes!" to you and flips the power switch. Now everything you see is awash in brightness and color. What had seemed lifeless has been converted into delightful beauty.

That's all it takes for your soul to change! First, you supply the electricity: You make your soul available to Jesus. What do you need him to do in you? He says, “Yes!” Nothing more than his say-so is needed.

When your decorations are up and night-time falls, flip the Christmas lights on and off and on and off. Enjoy how easy it is to change the way your little world looks. It's that easy for Jesus to change the great big world, but because there are a lot of bulbs missing from the string of lights, not much of the world gets lit up.

This is why it's so very, very important that we all do our best to become brighter lights and why we must evangelize others so that the missing ones are restored and new ones are added to the string!

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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