Happy First Week of Advent!
Each year, members of the Villanova community collaborate to create a reflection book. This is my reflection for today's readings. Thanks to the VU community for inviting me to share!
First Tuesday in Advent - November 30th
Readings: Is 11:1-10, Ps: 19:8-11, Lk 10:21-24
Today’s Gospel reading begins with an emotional Jesus—he is rejoicing! And not only is he rejoicing, but rejoicing in the Holy Spirit! Why on earth is he so happy? To answer this question, we must rewind to verse twenty. There, Jesus directs the seventy-two to “rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Luke’s Jesus does not speak to the seventy-two as separate individuals. If he had intended to do this, he would have said “rejoice because your name is written in heaven.” Instead, he challenges them to affirm their belovedness because all their names are precious to the Father. Be filled with joy, Jesus tells us, because God will not forget his children.
Verse twenty-two continues with this aspect of joy because Jesus talks about the intimate relationship with himself and the Father: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father.” As the beloved son, Jesus opens the door for us to recognize how we also are chosen and claimed by our Creator.
This passage reveals something about the nature of joy—it is meant to be recognized and affirmed in the lives of those around us. We complete our joy by celebrating the love of God for others. Jesus sets an example of rejoicing in the generosity of God’s ardent love for us and urges us to also experience this level of joy.
Words like gift, gratitude, and generosity are commonplace during this time of post-Thanksgiving and the beginning of the Advent season. Let us take a moment and rejoice in at least three people in our lives today who have revealed to us our own belovedness. This Advent let us keep in our hearts and minds this idea of shared joy: of rejoicing in the giftedness and uniqueness of those around us. This goes deeper than giving kudos and compliments—it is a deep reverence for each individual as a human person and God’s beloved.
Michelle Sherman
Graduate Student in Theology & Lay Ministry - Class of 2012
Also, click the "Online Advent Experience" to the right of this blog for more Advent resources from the Jesuits.
Peace & Joy,
-Michelle
