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"True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior's doctrine of losing one's life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service. David O.
McKay (What does the "spirit of Christmas" mean to you? What's making your heart glow these days?) |
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Is 7:10-14; Psalm 24:1-2,
3-4ab, 5-6 Lk 1:26-38 In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a
town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a
son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the
handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from
her. USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“Your God is in your midst, a victorious Warrior. He will exult
with joy over you, He will renew you by His love; He will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.” —Zephaniah 3:17, JB
Zephaniah 3:17 can be translated as “God will dance over you with joy.” Another possible translation is “God rejoices over you with bodily movement.” Of course, “God is Spirit” (Jn 4:24) and not man. Yet Scripture at times describes God in human terms, which
makes it easier for us to relate to Him. God loves His people like a human father or mother (see e.g. Hos 11:4; Is 49:15-16; Lk 15:20ff). God is described as leaping over the mountains like a lover to be with us (Sg 2:8).
As wondrous as it is to bask in the wonder of God dancing over us, it is even more wonderful to consider that we human beings have the capacity to give the Creator of
the universe joy (Zep 3:17). We can make Him happy, as it were. We can console the heart of the Lord. God has no need of our praise, but He delights in His people (Ps 149:4). Let us spend our lives bringing joy to the One Who loves us so deeply. Let us receive God’s very own joy (Jn 15:11) and then return that joy to Him (see Lk 15:10, 32; Rv 4:9-10). Bring God great joy by your
repentant, loving, obedient, and faithful life. Prayer: “Take joy, my King, in what You hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.” Promise: “Blest is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled.” —Lk 1:45 Praise: “O Radiant Dawn, Splendor of eternal light, Sun of Justice: Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” Presentation Ministries
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What is Christian Love? by Philip St. Romain (all rights reserved) Adapted from Freedom from Codependency: A Christian Response Dysfunctional Beliefs About Love part 1 of 5
In reflecting on the meaning of Christian love, it will be helpful to consider some common distortions about love. If these distortions become part of one’s value system, they can lead to codependent behaviors. First, Christian love is not
codependency. Christian love does not call for a giving of yourself that enables another to act irresponsibly, nor is it about impressing others or trying to get their approval. Certain teachings commonly heard in Christian circles, however, can lead to an unhealthy giving of self in practice. Some of these teachings are listed below:
• "I am my neighbor’s keeper." The codependent interprets this as meaning that we are responsible for one another’s feelings and happiness. A healthy understanding is that we are all interdependent and have the responsibility to help victims of injustice.
•
"Love equals good works." The distortion is that only those who do good works can be said to be loving. If, in addition, we define what those good works would be, then we would judge people according to whether or not they’re doing those works. Of course, it is possible to do good works and be empty or resentful inside. That is a further distortion of this Christian motto. Those who love WILL do good works, but not all good works are done in
love. Paperback book, PDF eBook, Kindle, ePub
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