Reflect
In Isaiah 66:1-2, God tells the people of Israel the kind of dwelling he approves of: the lowly, and the afflicted. How often do we read words like this and immediately try to decipher some kind of spiritual metaphor? As if there is no way God could be speaking of actual poverty, actual affliction. Yet, every Christmas we celebrate the birth of a God who chose to come into the world, vulnerable, homeless, a refugee. His family was forced to flee across borders to escape persecution. A helpless baby lying in a manger, that is the dwelling God chose; the dwelling God approves.
Pray
Child Jesus,
child of the homeless,
child of the refugee,
child of hunger,
child of poverty,
child of humility,
child of affliction,
child so lowly,
open my eyes,
humble my heart,
make me more
like you.
Act
Think of one way that you have encountered God today in the needs of another. In the hunger of a homeless person, the outstretched hand of a beggar, or in the helpless arms of a newborn baby? Take a moment to thank God for the gift of love, and for the chance to meet him face to face in the lowly and the afflicted.
