Hopeful Expectation

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, December 29th, 2024:
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

---

1 John
3.1-2, 21-24

​Beloved: See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever obeys his commandments abides in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

If I were to read only the first line of today’s reading, I would be comforted. I am addressed as “beloved” (which simply means “dearly loved”) and then I am reminded that God loves me so much that He calls me His child. The child part is certainly true. Most days, I feel like a baby Christian who is slowly growing into a toddler. This slow, gentle process sometimes leaves me feeling frustrated. Because although Advent is over, my own personal season of waiting continues.

“…what we will be has not yet been revealed.”

I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. I know what you’re thinking: Aren’t I supposed to be grown up already? I sort of fell into I.T. (information technology) because I didn’t know what else to do with my math degree and there seemed to be a lot of job prospects in this field. But I never felt called to it. I never felt passionate about it. As I’m taking my first few steps as a toddler Christian, my heart is opened to new possibilities and new ways to use the gifts God has given me. I see friends making new and brave transitions as they follow where Jesus leads them, and I ache to know the plans He has for me. It doesn’t help that while I wait, my current job is full of stress, impossible deadlines, and an often-toxic work environment. During this challenging time, I feel the Lord working in me. I feel Him calling me to a deeper trust in His promises and to a deeper surrender of my life. I am reminded that no step in this journey is wasted.

I recently learned that in the Old Testament the Hebrew word for “wait” is “qavah,” which can also mean to hope or to expect. It’s not meant to be passive; it’s meant to be an active time of nourishment and cultivation as we abide in Him and He in us. He is calling us to pray bold prayers and to wait in hopeful expectation that we will receive from Him whatever we ask. 

What I do is not who I am. So even if I don’t know what God is calling me to do, I know who He is calling me to be. He is calling me to be like His son, Jesus, in whatever capacity my humanness allows. I am to believe in Him, to love Him above all else, and to love my neighbour, as this first letter of John tells us. Until all is revealed, I will pray for the grace to own my belovedness and my identity as a child of God.




Lisa Matheson

---