Keep hope alive in your heart … 09-Dec-2018

From the Desk of Father David

Dear Friends in Christ,

What would happen if you met a person who dresses in an unusual way, eats grasshoppers, and tells you to publicly confess your sins to him and to the crowd, how would you react?  Would you react with joy or think the person is crazy?  Some of us judge people by the way they dress, hair color or style, tattoos or how many body parts they pierced.  Most of us have trouble with confessing our sins to a priest and would be horrified to have to do it in front of a large crowd.

In today’s Gospel we experience broken people who want to be whole.  They are willing to humble themselves and go to John the Baptist to experience God’s forgiveness, to receive a message of hope that the Messiah is coming and all will be right.  We receive the great message of hope by the birth of Jesus, knowing that He will come at the end of time, and by especially knowing that Jesus is Emmanuel, the God who is always with us.  Are you looking for Him daily?  What are you willing to do so that the Lord can enliven you?  In the first reading, we hear about God’s promise to restore all things and make everything new.  Do you believe God will do this?  Are you willing to work along side God to make this a reality?  Is there a relationship you need to restore, someone who needs forgiveness or encouragement you can offer them?  We need to follow the example of the people in the Old Testament who never gave up on God’s dream and kept hope alive in their hearts.

Some of the ways we can notice Jesus present to us is by setting aside time for Him in our busy schedules.  Try to spend a few moments reflecting on the Scriptures and trying to see your life from Jesus’ point of view.  Make time for Christ and watch many marvelous things begin to happen in your life and others.

May the Lord of Hope fill us with hope and joy.

In Advent waiting,

Fr. David