In today’s world, the trendy way to announce that you are with child is to host a “reveal party.” Invite all your friends and family to see you cut a frosted cake that is either pink or blue on the inside, or better yet, shoot a rocket into the air and have it explode in a burst of pink or blue smoke.
Reveal parties certainly make for great social media postings. But for real drama, have the angel Gabriel come and visit you and say, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
Now, there can be only one Annunciation, but that does not mean that God does not talk to us each and every day. Again, maybe not as dramatic as the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, but the voice is there, urging, consoling, and inspiring us. The problem is, we are often too busy to take the time to listen to what God has planned for us. For God truly sees great things in each of us.
So, as we near the end of this wonderful season of Advent, let each of us try to slow down our all-too-hectic lives. And, with purpose, let us create more time to spend with God in prayer and meditation so we can hear God’s voice and all the wonderful things he has planned for us. Let us hear again and again of God’s endless love for us and then demonstrate that love by the lives we live in service to God and others.
Maybe, just maybe, by doing less we can become more. More Christ-like in how we live our lives in thanksgiving for the wonderful gifts we have received.
Steve Scholer
I came to Creighton to attend law school in 1976 and following 5 years of private practice I started what I thought would be a 4 year job to help Fr. James Hoff, S.J. raise funds for the Campaign for Creighton. Little did I know that the many wonderful people I would soon meet, both here on campus and across the entire country, over the next few years would lead me to stay and continue to support the mission of this University. My wife is a Creighton graduate and our son, Frank, is a Xavier undergraduate and Creighton law graduate. Our daughter, Paige, has both her undergraduate and master’s degree from Creighton.
I do not participate in social media websites so posting my personal interpretation about what the readings mean to me is a novel experience for me. However, being required to put pen to paper forced me to become more reflective about what God is really trying to say to me and this has helped me in my daily prayer life - to slow down and let the Word of God dwell within me instead of racing through the daily devotions.
