Advent Devotional: Friday 12/16

Advent Devotional for Friday, 16 December 2011

Week 3: JOY

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
   because the LORD has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim freedom for the captives
   and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
   and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
   instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
   instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
   instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   a planting of the LORD
   for the display of his splendor

Isaiah 61:1-3

Baby Jesus is coming in 9 days! Imagine Mary holding this small child. A baby boy with fragile hands and feet, that new baby smell and his eyes closed, sleeping and dreaming while his quiet birth in the manger changed the world forever. God chose this small baby as the one who would grow up to bind up the brokenhearted, free those in physical and emotional captivity and set an example to show others the way to the kingdom of God. That was Jesus’ purpose.

Now put yourself in the picture.

Many people awaited your birth with the same excitement we see in our preparations for Christ. You had your own 9-month Advent season.  So many waited for you during that time in preparation and anticipation.  The annunciation of your birth, many visitations of family and friends preparing a place for you and the day when your mother first held you and others gathered, thanking God for this beautiful gift that He had given.  Just as God chose Jesus for the purposes written in Scripture, so too did He choose you with a verse written and purpose set out in the same way.

Wait! My purpose has been written down in the Bible, the most published and translated book in history? I’m still trying to figure out what God’s plan is for me!

Let me rephrase. Jesus never saw his purpose written out and spent 30 years of his life discovering it until He was ready to begin His ministry, which included the parables and miracle stories we are all familiar with.  While we might not know the exact verse God has written for us, we learn and discover that verse each day from the little miracles that we experience and create. We carry within us the image of Christ and find our own ways to express that. The expression of Christ within us is our purpose. We teach, advise, counsel, empower, love and care for each other and ourselves each day and Christ’s birth reminds us to look back on our year and see how we have done all of these things in his image and likeness. It is in small moments of love and care that we change the world and continue to walk on our path, carefully and purposefully designed by God.  We choose to be Christ for others and those choices help us to understand the verse God has written for us a little more each day.

So this Christmas, who are you? Look back on your year. What do you have to say for yourself? Are you who God has called you to be? Look ahead to the next year. What can you do to discover your verse? How can you continue to walk on the path that God has made for you, the one He knew since before you dreamed and slept quietly in your mother’s arms?

Angela Siegel, Jesuit Volunteer