“What Love God Has Bestowed on Us” by Beth DeCristofaro

“What Love God Has Bestowed on Us” by Beth DeCristofaro

Christmas Weekday

If you consider that God is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. … No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. (1 John 2:29, 3:1,6)

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. … Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." (John 1: 29, 34)

Piety

Oh, I woke up dis mornin' wid mah min' / An' it was stayed / Stayed on Jesus / Woke up dis mornin' wid mah min' / An' it was stayed / Stayed on Jesus / Hallelujah

Can't hate your neighbor in your min' / If you keep it stayed / Stayed on Jesus / Can't hate your neighbor in your min' / An' it was stayed / Stayed on Jesus / Hallelujah

Makes you love everybody with your min' / When you keep it stayed / Stayed on Jesus /
Makes you love everybody with your min' / When you keep it stayed / Stayed on Jesus /
Hallelujah (Negro Spiritual, WOKE UP DIS MORNIN'(http://www.negrospirituals.com/news-song/woke_up_dis_mornin.htm )

Study

In Luke’s Gospel, we meet John before his birth when he leaped for joy at hearing Mary’s voice (Luke 1:41). Although John doesn’t say it, I imagine that the adult John also leaped for joy as he saw the adult Jesus approaching. John conducted his life in righteousness which allowed him to recognize the revelation of God right in front of him at the humble river Jordan.

The letter Epistle from 1 John, believed to have been written after the Gospel, deals with those who already doubt both the divinity and true humanity of Jesus. Two thousand years later, of course, many people doubt as well. We reveal our doubt in our activities, choices, priorities, cravings, and distractions many of which are sinful. If we truly believed what great love God has for us in sending Jesus to remove sin one would think we would stop looking for gods within ourselves and within other “golden” idols.

Action

Not that I endorse eating locusts, but perhaps the fierce focus of John “preparing the way” is an image to help us keep on the way. Prepare His way not my own. Rabbi Israel Salanter teaches that “the material needs of my neighbor are my spiritual needs.” Jesus’ love was dynamic and living, reaching out to the sinful, the downtrodden, those who were “unclean” and outcast. This love is so contrary to our society it even gave heart and hope to people that were legally enslaved in our own history. In the plenty of God’s love, what can we focus on so that we can every day see Jesus walking toward us and our spirit might “leap for joy.”

As the temperature outside hover in the single-digits or below, hyperthermia shelters will leap for joy if you volunteer.  Food and clothing drives, teaching someone to read or speak English, helping on a Cursillo committee or cook crew all need your help.  On what can you focus?