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 A collective reflection on Hope, Peace, Joy, and LoveSaturday, December 21, 2024 |
| Presence is Joy Luke 1:46-56, Exodus 15:21, 1 Samuel 2:1-10 “There is a place in you…that is the eternal place within you. The more we visit there, the more we are touched and fused with the limitless kindness and affection of the divine…If we can inhabit that reflex of divine presence, then compassion will flow naturally from us.” -John O’Donohue John O’Donohue, the Irish poet and philosopher, was asked about prayer. In his response, he talks about the importance of recognizing the presence of God; in doing so, we will experience joy. He emphasizes that joy is a deep, abiding presence rather than just fleeting happiness. All the passages we read today are songs lifted to God, thanking him for his presence – an overflow of joy so deep that you are left with no other response than to sing to the heavens. I’m not saying those moments happen every day. But I have had moments where the overflow of joy was so great that the moment went from feeling ordinary to feeling sacred. I think Christmas time offers us many opportunities to experience that sacred-making joy due to its traditions, twinkling lights, and childlike wonder. But it also grants us the opportunity to remember God’s presence and the gift that Jesus’ presence to this world means for us. He is joy personified. He is the embodiment of God’s deep and abiding presence with us. There is an overwhelming joy that comes from those moments when you recognize “divine presence.” It’s Christmas day for me, but it’s not in the presents and melee. It is the moment in the afternoon when everyone is lying next to one another, watching a movie and laughing together – no cell phones, interruptions, just presence. That joy is reflected in the faces of my family, illuminated by the faint glow of candles as we sing “Silent Night” at our Christmas service. God is there in those moments; a divine presence gives me a sense of deep, overwhelming joy. By Sarah Hahs PRAYER FOR TODAY Father God, thank you for your deep and abiding presence in our lives. I pray that we get the chance to experience the overwhelming joy that your presence brings. Thank you for the ordinary moments that are made sacred just by our recognition of your being in them with us. Thank you for your Son, Jesus, and for sending him so that we may experience divine presence with you. Continue to give us your presence daily so that we may experience overwhelming joy as we continue to seek you in this season. Amen. DOWNLOAD ECHOES OF HOPE PDF BOOKLET |
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