New life, new love, new hope
Gospel: LK 1:39-47
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121224.cfm
In today’s gospel, we hear about Mary visiting Elizabeth, her cousin. After Mary speaks with Gabriel, she decides to visit Elizabeth given that she just learned that she was pregnant as well. They both have had a miracle happen to them, and what better thing to do than get some time together and share the moment. At their encounter, John jumps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb.
There’s something amazing about a new life. It transforms people to see and experience the world differently than they saw it before. It changes people as they now take on new roles as fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. We are forever changed as a new life introduced to the world. As we extend our love out to children, it connects us back to other experiences in our life, but it is also something completely new because the new person is something unique that the world has never fully experienced before. We can easily mourn what was as we are also excited and nervous about what the future brings. Things will never be the same again for good or for ill. The uncertainty can bring a wide array of emotions.
This too happens as we meet new people and build new relationships or as relationships morph and change as time continues. In this past year, I have spent some time with new people who have impacted the way I see the world. I have grown in relationships with others that I couldn’t have imagined growing closer through our insecurities and shared experiences. I’ve gone through some struggles in some which, in some situations, have brought us closer together. I’ve had some relationships where we’ve grown apart as life has changed us and we are no longer in sync. Each of these encounters and experiences have transformed and shaped me in a way. We hunger for these connections and can feel an overwhelming absence when they aren’t there.
When we share with each other in love, we encounter God. God is revealed through right relationship. God is also revealed as we strive to be in right relationship with each other. We are all unique and dynamic so there is always a mystery of what is to come and what might be made known that we didn’t know before. We can be surprised by where and how God is found in our life. Who are some people that revealed God to you this year? What are the chances that they knew?
May we find ways to let others know the impact they’ve had on us for just being. Amen.
