Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Wednesday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/123020.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: 1 John 2: 12-17
Responsorial: Psalm 96: 7-8A, 8B-9, 10
Gospel: Luke 2: 36-40
Our reflection on Wednesday’s readings:
Give to the LORD, you families of nations…he governs the peoples with fairness. Psalm 96: 7A, 10B.
Often, but not always, after waking up, but while still lying in bed, I will very quietly say an Our Father, The Apostles Creed, three Hail Marys, and then the Glory Be. I do this not because I’m Catholic or holy. It’s more of a way to calm me down and start the day right, although I admit, I often fall back to sleep, or my mind wanders to the news of the world, and to all that I want to get done during the day.
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.” Thus, begins the Apostles’ Creed which we recite so often. God created it all. So, I recite the Apostles’ Creed, sometimes not giving it a lot of thought. When I do think about it, I find comfort that I do believe it. God created it all.
There are times, especially on a clear night, when I marvel at the universe. The photos we see from the Hubble Telescope are incredible. The successor to the Hubble telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch in late 2021. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, contains 100-400 billion stars. And there are at least 125 billion galaxies in our universe.
God created it all and declared it to be good. Humans create nations; humans create governments. Humans even create religions and religious organizations. Too often, humans want to create God in their own image. But, we don’t get to create God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – in our image. The ultimate Truth and Love cannot be narrowed to fit our image. Instead, we, created in God’s image, must reflect that image in our lives and actions.
Today, on this sixth day of Christmas, the psalmist speaks to me. Please, Lord, let me give to You; let my work, my actions, my words, and my example give to the Lord. Let me be fair as the Lord is fair.
And let me—as one human being, as part of a family, a community, and a nation, among many nations, on one planet, revolving around one star, among trillions of stars—let me do my part to give to the Lord, and be an ally to the Lord so that, as the Psalmist tells us, fairness will reign.
Peace and blessings,
Al Mytty