by Rachel Brunner, food sovereignty organizer, Presbyterian Hunger Program (Louisville, Kentucky)
This is the season of hope and celebration! As we prepare for Christmas and are surrounded by friends and family, it is easy to be joyful and refreshed like the parched desert and the blossoming crocus. Jesus Christ is to be born tomorrow, and this will strengthen, comfort, heal, and provide for us! Praise the Lord!
As the season comes to an end, family and friends will go back to work, decorations will go back in boxes, and the pace of everyday life will return. Does this mean we have to wait until Easter or next Christmas to feel this hope again? No!
Thanks to the grace of God, we are given the gift of hope in Jesus Christ, the opportunity to wake up every morning with our eyes and hearts open, ready to see the miracles around us. Although the season is ending, Jesus’ work is not. Watch as the eyes of the blind are opened, the ears of the deaf are unstopped, the lame leap like deer, and the mute shout for joy! This year, allow gladness and joy to overtake you and sorrow and sighing to flee away.
PRAYER
Gracious Lord, thank you for your son, Jesus Christ, and for the gift of hope. Please help us carry the Christmas spirit in our hearts all year long and open our eyes to see your miraculous work around us. Lead us to do your will and to love others as you have loved us. Amen