Zep 3:14-18a / Phil 4:4-7 / Lk 3:10-18
A few weeks before Christmas, a woman who lived in a New York apartment building found a greeting card taped to her door. “Merry Christmas from the custodial staff,” it said.
“How nice,” she said to herself and promptly forgot about it.
A week later she came home to find another card taped to her door. It was the same message, “Merry Christmas from the custodial staff.” But this time, stamped right in the middle in big red letters, were the words, “Second Notice!”
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We are all terribly forgetful. None of us is immune. As we immerse ourselves in our daily tasks — as surely we must — we can forget almost anything: birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, our bank balance, our glasses. You name it, we forget it. We make lists so we won’t forget and then we forget the list.
But our forgetfulness isn’t limited just to the little things. We forget the big things as well: who our real friends are, what really matters in life, who loves us, who needs us, what we were made for. We just forget and forget and forget.
That is why we need to gather here, week after week: to help each other remember who we are, remember what really matters, and remember that we aren’t walking this long road alone. We’re walking it with the Lord who is right at our side.
And what is this Lord like who walks at our side? Does He walk with us as a critic? a policeman? a judge? or maybe just an impartial observer? In fact He is none of the above.
The Lord walks with us as a partner and mentor who wants to see us succeed and who understands that it’s going to take us awhile. Now what more could we ask? How can we not celebrate and rejoice as today’s liturgy urges us so insistently? How can we not be confident and hopeful and put all fears behind us. After all, God is with us and for us!
And there’s still more. Having God walking with us as partner and mentor gives us the opportunity to be in close conversation with Him hourly. With simple words like, “Well, Lord, what do you think about this?” Or, “Lord, can you help me see this more clearly?” Or simply, “Help, Lord, I can’t do this one alone.” Those are the kinds of words that partners and friends speak very often.
All of that is what we have come together here to remember. First, remember to rejoice and forget all our fears because He is with us. And second, remember to listen to Him and talk to Him about the real stuff of our lives because He cares more than anyone else … and He knows the way home.
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Trust Him, talk to Him, listen to Him. He knows the way home, and He wants to see us safely all the way there. Thank God, He keeps sending us second notices! Thank God, indeed!
