“Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give You praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned You have revealed them to the childlike” – Luke 10:21
One clear summer evening, I noticed a bright light in the sky. It was too bright to be a star, so I surmised it was most likely a planet. We own a spotting scope that is good enough for bird watching but a poor imitation for a telescope. It took some patience, but I was able to center the object in the center of the field of view and then did my best to focus as sharply as possible. The scope shook with each of my movements, causing my unidentified shining object to violently streak back and forth in my field of vision.
I decided to hold my breath and remain as still as possible, positioned just a hair’s breadth away from the eyepiece. The bright object trembled less and finally came to standstill. As the image stopped moving, I could discern a series of faint stripes across it. My bright object was none other than the planet Jupiter!
The Gospel reading today from Luke 10 recounts the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” What will be my experience this Advent Season? Will I eagerly focus on our Lord and Savior with a still and quiet soul? It required patience and focus on the bright light in the sky this past summer. I believe it will require the same effort to see Him.
Dear Lord,
Please help me this Advent Season to reflect quietly, away from the holiday distractions, on You. Help me to have the same experience the disciples did when You said, “For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Amen.
John Thornburg
To view the full Advent 2022 booklet in English, click here.
For Spanish, click here.
For French, click here.