Choose The Gift

A Reflection on the Second Reading for November 29th, 2020:
First Sunday of Advent

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1 Corinthians
1.3-9

Brothers and sisters: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind — just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you — so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

It’s beginning to look a lot like COVID Christmas!


I know that’s not how that song goes. However, that’s how I feel these days. COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives for the past nine months and is about to seriously alter the way in which we celebrate what has been dubbed the “most wonderful time of the year”: Christmas. We fill this time of year with gatherings with loved ones, eating, rejoicing in Christ’s coming, eating, reindeer games, eating, gift giving… did I mention eating? How do we do that now? This year, COVID-19, like the first snow storm of the season, is causing havoc and forcing us to re-think how we do what we normally do.


The fact of the matter is, I have a choice. I can bow down to this COVID-19 fatigue — this sense of weariness that I’m feeling as a result of this on-going, ever evolving, seemingly unending global pandemic. Or I can reach deep into the roots of the faith that grounds me for the strength and belief that in the midst of this craziness, God still is, and we will still welcome his Son at Christmas.


It is so easy to choose option #1 because I am all kinds of tired with the craziness of our world. At every turn: at work, rest, and play, I feel inundated with limitations and restrictions like I have never experienced before. Yet as one who calls herself a child of God, I am also privy to gifts and graces beyond my wildest dreams. As Saint Paul has said to the Corinthians: “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him.”


Because of this certainty, I can choose to lament the normal that was, or I can create a new normal — with Christ. After all, Christ has been gifted to me. In an ordinary year, I have striven to make the Advent season a personal time to prepare my heart and mind to re-receive this precious Gift. The gift of His Son becoming one of us; one of us who hears, smells, touches, sees, tastes — just like any other human being. This Child who, as the Son of God, wants us to use all our senses to recognize God’s revelation in the midst of our world — even our COVID world. This gift was given to change me, in order to, in turn, change my world.


I am certain that God is present in this pandemic. Saint Paul reminds us that God is faithful, so at the very least, I can be faithful to Him. Christmas doesn’t have to be different. But I can be different. Christ is still coming to change the world. This Advent I will prepare for a change in me that will help me to change our world. What about you?




Aurea Sadi

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