When the Messiah, the Christ, comes:
Partly because these messianic promises do not seem fulfilled, conservative Jews believe that the Messiah, the Christ, has not yet come and therefore the true Christmas has not yet come. Christians believe that these promises and many more have been fulfilled in the Incarnation, death, and Resurrection of God Himself. We Christians admit that the new, abundant life given us by Jesus (Jn 10:10) has not been fully accepted because of our sins. However, this does not mean that the Lord has not fulfilled these messianic promises (see Jos 23:14).
This Christmas, let us repent of sin and receive His messianic promises. Thereby we show that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and that Christmas is real.
| PRAYER: | Father, by my total commitment to Christ, make my life a Christmas present to all I meet. |
| PROMISE: | Jesus "said to His disciples, 'The harvest is good but laborers are scarce. Beg the Harvest-Master to send out laborers to gather His harvest.' " –Mt 9:37-38 |
| PRAISE: | St. Ambrose was not intimidated by civil authorities. In his disputes with Emperor Auxentius, he declared, "The emperor is in the Church, not above the Church." |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College