Monday, December 25, 2017

A Great Light by Jim and Diane Bayne

A Great Light by Jim and Diane Bayne


The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.  You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing. (Is 9:1)

Beloved: The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
(Ti 2:11)

And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.  She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.  (Luke 2:4-7)

Piety
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.

Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.

Study
Looking around our world today, one could easily get the impression that we are still a people who walk in darkness: wars and threats of wars, immense poverty, millions of refugees, polarized peoples everywhere.

Yet in the midst of the darkness there is plenty of light.  As Paul tells us in the second reading, Jesus came to train us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age. Thousands of organizations like SOME, Starfish, and Fish4Hope have learned the ways of Jesus and are feeding and training the poor and needy all around the globe every day of the year. 

Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Cosmic Christ who became man for the purpose of teaching us how to discover and grow in our call to union with the Divine by serving others.  In his letter to the Philippians, Paul tells us how:

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.  (Phil 2:5-8 - The Message)

To follow Jesus‛ example and Paul‛s direction to live temperately, justly, and devoutly, means to live with our focus on serving others.  As the late Fr.  Paul Wynants used to ask during every celebration of the Mass, ‟What have you done for the other this week?” It is in doing for others that we learn to Sing to the Lord.

Action
Over the past couple of months, our mailboxes have been filled with begging letters and we know how important it is to give money to these great charities.  But what have you done to actually be Christ to others this month?  How have you been the hands of Christ in your little piece of the world?  It‛s never too late and New Year‛s resolutions are coming up fast.  Merry Christmas to ALL!!

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