Glimpses of God's Goodness are published for all Sundays and Feast Days at www.sndden.org, the international website of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
December 8, 2024
Luke 3: 1-6
Over the last few weeks, in the readings at Mass, we have heard the “end of the year” collection of warnings and admonitions about the end times- complete with apocalyptic images of death and suffering. Thank God we can begin to look forward to Jesus’ coming- and coming soon!
But, wait, here again today, as we begin our nice shiny-new liturgical year, we have the stars and moon, the earth and seas, all being shaken. Above and below, there is nothing that seems steady–people are “dying of fright!” I had hoped for something a little more, well, hopeful as we begin this new year.
Tucked into today’s reading, however, is a line which gives me hope, even as it and challenges me, each time it is read:
Now when these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your redemption is near. (Lk 21:28, Common English Bible)
The times of turmoil in our lives: in our families, in our workplaces, in our nation, in our world, can be and are quite scary, and sometimes throw us off balance. They can also be opportunities for us to wake up and see that our God is coming. And, as this season of Advent will attest to us over and over, indeed, the Savior is already in our midst.
I think our gospel invites us, especially in times of difficulty or upheaval, to stand up, do what needs to be done, and trust that this is the time for being awake, aware and ready to cooperate, and to participate in the salvation the Holy One wants to bring about in this world. This is not the time to cower in fear, but to run to be part of God’s saving work. The Collect in today’s liturgy tells us to resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds.
Even in searing times, we can be sure of this: God has not left us. God-with-us is not just pious talk. As Advent begins, stand up with all that is good and holy in you and look around to see where you can join in God’s holy work of bringing about the Reign of God here and now.
Luke 3: 1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
The Gospel of the Lord
Sister Janelle Sevier, SNDdeN has spent most of her ministerial life in pastoral work. She lived many years in Africa, where she served in a variety of pastoral, educational, and spiritual ministries. After returning from Africa, Sr. Janelle worked in her home state of Louisiana working in both social services and in spirituality: providing HIV services for those who could not afford treatment, and working as a pastoral associate. She then spent time in Haiti, helping to begin a new Notre Dame ministry for destitute families there. Now back in Louisiana, she is working as a pastoral assistant in a local parish and is also privileged to be involved in giving directed retreats and spiritual direction. Deeply grateful for the different ways she has been enriched by seeing God’s action in the lives of people of different cultures and experiences, she embraces this new opportunity to share Gospel reflections via the technological tools which this time in history provides.