Parish of St. Edward the Confessor Daily Advent/Christmas Reflections


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December 7, 2007

By

Sue Karpovich
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Reading 1
Psalm
Gospel

Text of Reflection:  
December 7, 2007

We learn in Isaiah that God’s kingdom is different from the world as we know it.  Things will change and our understanding of life changes, too.  As we work to build the kingdom here on earth we will need to see things differently than we once did, we will have better understanding of issues, and support a different side of debates as we grow in the way of the Lord.  There is hope in God’s kingdom for everyone.  Those who already believe live their lives reflective of that faith and will continue to do so.  Those who need to change and become different, better people will do so through hope in God’s heart-changing love.  With confidence in ourselves and our faith we can move toward living God’s kingdom on earth.

 

The Psalm reminds me that I have God in my life so I don’t need to worry.  Simple, right?  That doesn’t mean I don’t worry.  I worry about whether my family will be healthy, safe and successful.  I worry whether my money will stretch far enough to house, feed, clothe, and educate five children and still leave something for us to live on in our “golden years”.  But those worries are brief and fleeting as I remind myself that with God as my co-captain I can sit back and enjoy the journey.  I thank God for being in my life, in the good times and the bad.  I share my ups and downs with him as well as those of people close to me and strangers far away.  I see God’s presence all around me, in nature, in tiny helpless babies, and even in a dignified death.  Though not all my prayers are answered the way I think they should be, I continue to pray to the Lord and have confidence that he knows what is best for me.  What have I got to worry about if God is looking after me?

 

We can ask God for anything, but without the belief that he can really do it our requests are useless.  It brings to mind the saying “faith moves mountains.”  If God answered our prayers the way we wanted all the time we would not develop spiritually.  He would be just a magician to us and we would only go to him when we wanted or needed something.  God wants a relationship with us—give and take, not just take.  Just as Jesus made the two blind men wait until he acknowledged them often we must wait for some tangible answer to our prayers.  God works his miracles through us and without that give and take relationship, our personal friendship with Jesus that is reflected in our faith, those miracles cannot happen.  Miracles happen to those who believe.