An Advent Reflection for December 20, 2015, the Fourth Sunday of Advent

I trust you are experiencing a deep sense of joy and peace as you prepare for the Christmas holiday next week! I pray that we all have the heart of a child that revels in the joyous expectation of all that Christmas is and can be!

The theme for this Fourth Sunday of Advent is Love. It is more than obvious that we express our love during Christmas by giving gifts. Recently I saw a plaque with this quote on it.

Yesterday is the past. Tomorrow is the future. Today is a gift of God. That is why it is called the present.

When I read it, I immediately questioned if it was true, so I looked up the etymology of the word present. As it turns out, it’s not that far off. Sparing the details, present literally means “to be before,” which is more commonly rendered “to be at hand.” The time that is at hand is the present. This also refers to being present. The word present gains the meaning of gift, because to give a gift is to “put a thing into the presence of a person.”

I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to say that we can express our love by giving a present, being present, and being in the present this Christmas.

Listen! The virgin shall conceive a child! She shall give birth to a Son, and he shall be called ‘Emmanuel’ (meaning “God is with us.”)”
(Matthew 1:23, TLB)

May we find the perfect way to show those close to us how much we love them through our expression of present!

Grace and peace,
Brook