Good News Reflection
Christmas Eve
Vigil Mass for Christmas
December 24, 2010
Available as a Good News Ministries Podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts
Today's Readings:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29
Acts 13:16-17, 22-25
Matthew 1:1-25
http://www.usccb.org/nab/122410.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_12_24.mp3
The gift of supernatural love
What is the best Christmas gift you've ever received from God? The obvious answer is: "Jesus my Savior!" All throughout Advent, we've been singing (in many churches), "Oh come, oh come Emmanuel." This nickname for Jesus, "Emmanuel", means "God is with us." To have "God with us" at all times, his love permeating every area of our lives, in good times and in bad, is great cause for joy.
So, if Jesus is always with us, why don't we always feel joy? I believe it's because we connect joy to love. If we don't feel loved enough, we feel miserable. No joy.
Have we ever been loved enough? Not really, not from people, not even from those who are supposed to love us fully and faithfully.
This is why we need to ask God for a supernatural ability to become aware of his love. When we're worn out and feeling empty because others are not loving us like they should, we need to remind ourselves that God is with us – we need to call upon Emmanuel. God who is with us already loves us completely, fully, unconditionally, even though we do not deserve to be treated better than the way we treat him.
If we expect others to love us more than they do, we feel unloved, but if we keep our eyes on Jesus, his love fills in all the gaps and restores us in his love. This is a very good reason to rejoice.
Emmanuel. It's a name for Jesus that we should use year-round. As you finish preparing for the celebration of Christmas, focus on Emmanuel. Pray to Emmanuel. Sing to Emmanuel. Dance with Emmanuel. This sign, this reminder, this name is God's personal Christmas gift to you.
Guess what happens when we openly behave as if God loves us more than anyone can imagine. We evangelize ourselves! Psychologists say that smiling reduces stress. Medical doctors say that laughter heals. If you need healing, if you need renewal, if you need to be lifted up out of misery, hold a praise and worship session with Jesus and your guardian angel while playing a CD of joyful music.
Here's a Christmas gift you can give to yourself in order to become more aware of God's love for you. Go to the nativity display at your church and look at the manger. Write on a small piece of paper the names of those who fail to love you sufficiently. Place it in the manger and, if it has straw or hay, take a piece of it (or take a flower petal or leaf from a nearby plant) as a reminder that Emmanuel was born to give you more than enough love.
The joy of knowing that you are loved by God is not a feeling you can get from anyone else. The joy of Emmanuel is an awareness that God is taking good care of you and that he loves you perfectly and completely. Normally, we project onto God the limitations we have experienced from others. This Christmas, let Emmanuel be born anew in you – Jesus who is with you loves you like no one else!
© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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