Reflection for Friday, December 31, 2010: Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas.
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Authors
Gabuzda, Richard, Rev.
Issue Date
2010-12-31
Type
Essay
Language
en_US
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Alternative Title
Abstract
Multiple Births|As the days of the Christmas Octave draw to a close, we are privileged to hear the moving Prologue of the Gospel of John. Among the many stately phrases that pour out one after the other, I am struck by the following: "But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God."|Having power to become a child-it is a curious phrase. We normally do not associate the words "power" and "child." Yet, it is the heart of the Christian mystery. Incapable of saving ourselves, we need a savior. But the path to salvation is not "upward mobility," but rather "downward humility." Christian maturity consists in "growing up" enough to become a child, dependent on and totally confident in God. To be "saved," is to become a child.|And this must come from a power that does not originate within us. The power comes through the choice to "accept him" - to say "yes" to being saved, rescued, by the Word made flesh, the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We must be born "of God."|And so Christmas is surely about a birth, in Bethlehem long ago. But just as surely it is about many births, the births of all those who accept Jesus and consent to be born again as children.
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Citation
Publisher
University Ministry, Creighton University.
License
These reflections may not be sold or used commercially without permission. Personal or parish use is permitted.