“The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering…” -Luke 3:15
Mary set out with haste to a Judean town in the hill country to be with Elizabeth. Their shared blessing and joy is a significant part of the story of the nativity. A shared sacredness between women experiencing something miraculous. Blessed is she.
Not much is written about Jesus in the years between his birth and the advent of his ministry, we pick up the story as Jesus goes to the region of the Jordan to meet with John and to be baptized. A shared sacredness in repentance and forgiveness, baptism and proclamation. Prepare the way of the Lord.
There is much about our faith experience that is unique, individual and personal. But we are part of a tradition that recognizes the both and. Holy and human. Knowing and mystery. Miracles and longing. Faith and works. Transformation and thorns. Already and not yet.
Our faith is always a deeply personal experience, but it is never only individual. The life and ministry of Jesus reveal to us the communal nature of our beliefs. We are part of one another. We are called to live and work in community. Shalom comes as we notice the sacred ordinary of this world together. Our joy is multiplied and our griefs divided when we bear witness with one another.
May your goodness and gifts be revealed to me this day, O God, in and with those with whom I share my life. Amen.
some comfort and joy 