WHAT WILL THIS CHILD TURN OUT TO BE?

PRAYER MOMENT 

Tuesday 23 December 2014

WHAT WILL THIS CHILD TURN OUT TO BE?

             

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “The whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered.” (Luke 1:57-66)

Reflection. Volcanoes erupt. Hope irrupts. Hope breaks in on a person, or a nation, when some event dramatically changes their perspective. Two days before Christmas we read of the birth of John which causes a stir. First, Elizabeth was ‘well on in years’ when one is supposed to be past childbearing. Second there was his naming. He was supposed to be named after his dad but he wasn’t. And then there was the little matter of Zechariah being dumb and then not dumb. These were all signs. People did not know what they were signs of but they filled them with hope. Something was about to happen. That irruption was in one time and one place, yet we know it has now been extended to all time and every place. We live in a profound hope that God is at work in our world. That does not mean we sit around waiting but that our actions, our engagement with our world, is spiced with hope.

Prayer. Lord, teach us to ‘treasure in our hearts’ the hope you give us at this time. May it sustain us as our daily bread. Amen.  

David Harold-Barry SJ