Being in a hurry, we all know what this means – rushing here, rushing there, our lives are filled with this.
Somehow, we so often find ourselves in a hurry.
Things to do, items to buy, people to meet, tasks to carry out, promises to fulfil – the list could go on and on.
Silently we wish for a few moments to breathe, a short period at least to relax.
In today’s gospel text, we meet a group of people who are also in a hurry.
They have been given a message – a very unusual, quite extraordinary message – by some angels.
They are shepherds who had been quietly watching over their flock at nighttime.
They are now in a hurry to find out about what the angelic messengers have been speaking about: the birth of a new-born child.
We are told:
“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16-21).
In the pre-Christmas season, many of us have been quite busy, in fact, we may been rushing here and there – there was so much to do to prepare for the feast.
Christmas is really a special feast and we wanted to make of it a real celebration.
But… the celebration of what exactly?
I recall having seen, a few years ago, a poster of the Nativity scene with the caption:
“Let us not forget the REASON for the SEASON.”
This text usually comes back to my mind when the time comes to prepare for Christmas.
The shepherds were hastening to find the true REASON for our celebration.
They found him and…
“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child…
They returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.”
As for Mary whose motherhood we celebrate today, we are told that:
“She treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Glorifying and praising God… Keeping in our hearts as a treasure what we have seen and heard…
Is it not the best way to start a new year?
Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/fete-de-marie-mere-de-dieu-annee-c-1er-janvier-2025/
Source: Images: https://www.scripture-images.com/bible-verse/kjv/luke-2-16-kjv.php
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palestine-06399_-_Nativity_(34893132736).jpg