Dear Parishioners,
Today marks the 4th week of advent, and a short week it is. The wax will barely dry on the 4th advent candle before we usher it away and replace it with Christmas decorations.
For those of us who are procrastinators, this poses a particular challenge. Christmas can feel like it has come too fast. We wish there was another week to get things ready.
Herein lies a meditation. Mary and Jospeh did not know when their child would be born. They had an idea, but no exact day. So, when Mary’s time came amid a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem it must have felt rushed. We know it was rushed because they couldn’t even find proper lodging. We can imagine the holy couple saying, “We wish there was another week to get things ready.”
But would they ever be ready? Given another week, would Mary and Joseph have found a home fit for the King of Kings? Given more time, would they have been ready to care for the prince of peace? I think not. But it’s not their fault.
The child born in the manger was the Divine Son of God and all things belonged to him. In other words, there was nothing Mary and Joseph could offer that he didn’t already have.
How do you prepare for a child like that?
But that is the mystery of Christmas: that we had nothing to offer God and yet He still came.
Dwell on that for a while and it will change your perspective on being “prepared” for Christmas. Mary and Joseph were not prepared for their child, but they never could be. All they could do was prepare their hearts to receive an overwhelming gift that never could be imagined.
If you are behind in your preparations for Christmas, take some time to refocus on preparing your heart to receive that same gift.
God Bless,
Fr. David