An Unexpected Christmas
A solution that only God could offer
Today's video gives us a backstage pass to the first scene of Christmas from Heaven's point of view. The children actors are genial and will certainly put a smile on your face. At the same time, the video offers us a moment to remember that God's answer for our lives many times aren't the one we would expect, yet they are always the one's we most need.
PrintLOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic-Link) - The video's script has a basic structure: God states the problem; the angels offer their solutions; God offers his solution; the angels cry out in surprise; and the coolest little angel says, "They won't be expecting that." Now, let's try to see how many times this same structure applies in our own lives.
In general, everyone agrees that there are many problems. As Christians, we recognized the that root of those problems is sin, which can be simplified as us not doing as God had intended when he created us. The next step begins when we begin to offer all our solutions to God:
"Everything would be fixed if...I had more people to help me, if I was stronger and had more power, if I had a different family, if I had a different home, if more people knew about me and my situation.." You see, just as the angels did, many times we try again and again to offer solutions to God without simply asking Him in the first place.
There is an important lesson to be learned here. The answers to our deepest desires, our darkest doubts, and our most lofty dreams are to be found in one person: Jesus Christ. Jesus is God's answer, the only effective one, the only one that really matters. As such, living out our Christian faith each and every day requires that we learn to go to God first. It means that we learn to trust that our Heavenly Father truly knows who we are and has our best interests at heart.
God's Plan and actions in our lives will always be unexpected, they will always go beyond anything we could ever foresee. This is true because He is God. Still, many times his works are "unexpected" to us because we aren't looking to God but rather to ourselves. We are so busy with our plans and projections, trying to figure out a way to make it all work, that we forget to turn towards God and ask: "Lord, I need help. What will you do?"
Let us take a moment, then, to open our interiors to the truly unexpected character of Christmas: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." Let us remember that only God truly understands who we are and what we need. Only in opening our lives in trust to the Him, only when we look for him with the eyes of Faith, will we be able to perceive and discover the greatness of His response.
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© 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.
In general, everyone agrees that there are many problems. As Christians, we recognized the that root of those problems is sin, which can be simplified as us not doing as God had intended when he created us. The next step begins when we begin to offer all our solutions to God:
"Everything would be fixed if...I had more people to help me, if I was stronger and had more power, if I had a different family, if I had a different home, if more people knew about me and my situation.." You see, just as the angels did, many times we try again and again to offer solutions to God without simply asking Him in the first place.
There is an important lesson to be learned here. The answers to our deepest desires, our darkest doubts, and our most lofty dreams are to be found in one person: Jesus Christ. Jesus is God's answer, the only effective one, the only one that really matters. As such, living out our Christian faith each and every day requires that we learn to go to God first. It means that we learn to trust that our Heavenly Father truly knows who we are and has our best interests at heart.
God's Plan and actions in our lives will always be unexpected, they will always go beyond anything we could ever foresee. This is true because He is God. Still, many times his works are "unexpected" to us because we aren't looking to God but rather to ourselves. We are so busy with our plans and projections, trying to figure out a way to make it all work, that we forget to turn towards God and ask: "Lord, I need help. What will you do?"
Let us take a moment, then, to open our interiors to the truly unexpected character of Christmas: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." Let us remember that only God truly understands who we are and what we need. Only in opening our lives in trust to the Him, only when we look for him with the eyes of Faith, will we be able to perceive and discover the greatness of His response.
Visit Catholic-Link now!
© 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: Christmas, Unexpected, God's Plan, Listening to God
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