Christianity is Significance
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
by Fr. David M. Knight

View readings for 3rd Tuesday of Advent: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings
Lectionary no. 195 (Judges 13:2-7, 24-25; Psalm 71; Luke 1:5-25)
“Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son… and many will rejoice at his birth. Luke 1:13
I read of an Austrian nobleman who did nothing but hunt and fish on his country estate. At the end of his life he muttered: “I’ve killed hares and hares and hares, and nothing else. It’s really too insignificant!”
What makes the work of a lifetime significant? Making killing after killing in the stock market? Becoming a celebrity? (A celebrity might be someone who is just “famous for being well known”).
Or is a life significant when, because of it, “many will rejoice?” As many rejoiced at the fruit of Elizabeth’s womb, and the fruit of Mary’s.
To every Christian Jesus promises a significant life: “Blessed is the fruit of your life. You did not choose me but I chose you… to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” (John 15:16).
Everybody does some good on earth. But how much of it lasts? A hundred years from now, who will care whether we lived or died?
All of those will whom we have helped—even a little bit—to know and love God better. They will be enjoying the “fruit of our lives” for all eternity.
DAILY PRACTICE: Think of all the people you deal with regularly. Ask what you can do for each one that will count for all eternity.
ADVENT PRAYER: Lord, blessed be the fruit of my life!
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry

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