Hearing and sensing new birth – 22 December 2020

The air is alive with tidings of Christmas. As the shops deck out their display windows with signs of Christmas and the sounds fill the malls and the halls, we know from past experience that something is afoot. We can feel the first stirrings of a new season – a season of goodwill and new beginnings.

Let’s take ourselves back to the time of Mary as she hurries to her cousin Elizabeth to greet her with the good news she has received, and the baby John stirs within his mother’s womb in recognition of the immanent birth of the Saviour.

This reading reminds us of signs of rebirth in our own life when God greets each of us and calls us to be reborn into a life with purpose. For us too, Advent should be a time to reflect on our own life history, as we ask God with an open heart: Why am I here? For what purpose was I created? What plans did you have for calling me even before my birth, or paying attention to me before I could pay attention to you?

Make the most of Advent at this time. Ponder on the meaning of Christ’s birth and life on earth. How does my contemplation of Jesus’ birth as being human like us touch the way I celebrate Christmas this time round?

Prayer: Lord, so often we doubt our own worth and lose our sense of purpose. Teach us to love and value ourselves as new beings in you. Amen