Monday the Third Week of Advent from:
Welcome Baby Jesus
Sarah A. Reinhard
Liguori Publications
ISBN 9780764819971
(Note: This devotion always gets to my kids. They love the task of telling each family member one thing they appreciate about each other. Two years ago, the last time we worked through this book we did this exercise a few nights in a row.)
Think:
Jesus gives John the Baptist a very high compliment in today’s quote from Scripture by saying that none are greater, but there seems to be a contradiction when Jesus says the least in the kingdom of heaven are greater than John. What does this mean?
Jesus is reminding everyone how important it is to be small and humble. This does not mean that we do not stand up for ourselves when we are mistreated. It means, instead, that we do not forget that God is first and that his will should determine how we live our lives. John the Baptist never tooted his own horn; he always gave God all the credit.
We are all called to be like the least in the kingdom of heaven; God wants us to serve those around us, to help the poor and feed the hungry. Some people are called to be rich and famous, and there is a lot of responsibility in that. Our goal should be to try to follow God’s will for our lives, to love him enough to say “Yes” to what he is asking from us right here, right now.
Maybe we have a bed that needs to be made, an assignment that should be finished, a friend who could use a hug. There are many ways to show love in our everyday lives, and when we are generous with our love, we not only show God to those around us, but we find him in the people we meet.
Pray:
Jesus, it’s hard to show love to other people when I have so much else to do. Guide me in my day-to-day activities so that I show your love to other people. Amen.
Act:
It’s easy to forget that we should always be looking for the good in other people, especially those we’re around every day. Tell every member of your family one thing you appreciate about them.
"Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Matthew 11:11
Books by Sarah A. Reinhard:
Welcome Baby Jesus
Welcome Risen Jesus
A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy
Catholic Family Fun
Word by Word
Do I Really Have to Give Something Up for Lent?
An Examination of Conscience for Teens: Grades 6 and Up
…
Author Profile and interview with Sarah A. Reinhard
1 comment:
John the Baptist gets mentioned twice this week if we get the chance to attend daily masses, first was last Sunday as a grown-up priest doing his duty to fulfill Old Testament prophecy and today (Tuesday) when an angel tells his father that he will have a son named John. God gives us different purposes in life and we have to fulfill these whether it's just a smile or a hug to encourage someone else to do what God wants them to do or to be rich and famous and lead a lot of Twitter and Instagram followers to God. In our case it's blogging and I'm glad we are doing our part. I got 2 posts about John the Baptist this week http://bit.ly/2CjMejb and http://bit.ly/2zkyeqT Merry Christmas Bro. Steven. Hope your son never needs going to surgery. God bless.
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