MUCH MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Friday of the First Week of Advent
My dear encountered couples:
When presents are exchanged this Christmas I wonder what it will be most people see. Will it be just the presents themselves, or the love that goes with them? We can be sidetracked by external appearances, labels, and monetary value. It is the invisible, the spiritual, the thought behind the gift that often surpasses all other values. Will those you give gifts to see your love and concern in them? Will you see the love that comes with the gifts that are given to you? Granted, some gifts are exchanged through obligation. But even then, some concern for the receiver might often be found in them if we look hard enough.
What I am saying is, there is more than meets the eye in our Christmas traditions of gift giving, decorations, dinners, and midnight Masses. Behind it all is a tremendous amount of love and sacrifice - both human and divine.
As Jesus moved on from Capernaum, two blind men came after him crying out, ‘Son of David, have pity on us!’ When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I can do this?’ “Yes, Lord,” they told him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened.
Because of the way Advent and Christmas have become crowded with so many things, I think a very large number of people are blinded to their real meanings. Could that include any of us? It does if we find ourselves not taking the meanings of Christmas along with us into the new year, where we do our best to live them. Ask Christ to touch the eyes of your soul and let you see what Advent and his birthday are all about. There is much more to Christmas than meets the eye.
