Opening Prayer: O
God, at times life can get so hard and overwhelming that it’s all we can do to
try to find hope in our own hearts from day to day. But you, O God, want so much more for (and
from) us. You not only want us to find our hope in you, but you want us to
offer hope to those in our lives and in
our world. Give us the strength and the
courage to do just that during this Advent season—as well as every season. Amen.
Scripture: Romans
8:18-28
Journal: How
does God want you to find your hope in
him during this season? How does he want
you to offer hope to others?
Reflection:
The more I think about the meaning of living
and acting in the name of Jesus, the more I realize that what I have to offer
others is not my intelligence, skill, power, influence, or connections, but my
own human brokenness through which the love of God can manifest itself. The celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's Mass says:
"Glass shines brighter when it's broken...I never noticed that." This, to me, is what ministry and mission are
all about. Ministry is entering with our
human brokenness into communion with others and speaking a word of hope. This hope is not based on any power to solve
the problems of those with whom we live, but on the love of God, which becomes
visible when we let go of our fears of being out of control and enter into His
presence in shared confession of weakness.
The great paradox of ministry, therefore,
is that we minister above all with our weakness, a weakness that invites us to
receive from those to whom we go. The
more in touch we are with our own need for healing and salvation, the more open
we are to receive in gratitude what others have to offer us. (Gracias!
by Henri J.M. Nouwen)
Prayer
Closing Prayer: Lord
Jesus, give me a vision bigger than
myself today. Amen.
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