While we tell ourselves that for the next few days we are supposed to be filled with joy, in reality, for many people the holidays only increase their pain. Especially for those who have lost loved ones this year, the first Christmas can be truly heart-wrenching. The holidays can be something to be endured.
For us as a Church, 2018 has been another difficult year, not unlike 2002. What, in someways, has this one worse, has been the lengths to which many of our leaders would go to cover up the problems.
In today’s readings Hannah and Mary proclaim their absolute faith in the power of God. Mary proclaims not only God’s power but also God’s justice.
God is the one who will cast down the mighty, lift up the lowly, fill the hungry, and send the rich away with nothing.
For us, the great challenge is that God will do it all on His schedule. For us who measure response times in nanoseconds, God and His Church seem to move far too slowly. We want it NOW!
No matter how bad your 2018 may have been, even the movement of the planet reminds us of the Good News. Tomorrow will absolutely be brighter than today. The change at times may be imperceptible, but that’s what faith is for. Jesus is the light that the darkness cannot overcome. And if we stand in that light and refuse to move, we too will overcome.
