Friday, January 1, 2021
The Eighth Day of Christmas
Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre: Nativity
Proof
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into your hearts crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child than also an heir, through God.
We struggle to realize a kind of independence from any being – natural or supernatural. We strive to gain control of our own destiny – earthly or spiritual. We tussle with time and attempt to govern the passing of minutes, hours and years – looking back into the past and forward into the future while neglecting the precious present. We have need of none of these desires and indeed we expend our energy and creativity uselessly on these false battles . . . for we already have all that we could hope for. We are rescued from darkness. We are ransomed through the love of God. And we are already heirs of a kingdom and fortune too vast to be measured or counted. We have our proof in this small, tiny child.
On this eighth day of Christmas as we stand at the threshold of a new day that marks a new year, let us live in this prized gift of the present that the Father has given to us. Let us give thanks to the Father for all that we have and all that we are. On this day when we begin a new year that we so eagerly await, let us cease our search for the proof of God’s love and let us be convinced – as Christmas people – that what we seek we already possess.
Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean-Baptiste_Marie_Pierre_-_Nativity_-_WGA17676.jpg
Enter the words Children of God into the blog search bar and spend some time reflecting on what it means to greet Christ as a brother.
The Noontimes 
