Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 22nd, 2024
"REJOICE in the Lord always . . . " (Philippians 4:4)
Have you ever tried to do something "non-stop"? In other words, you kept doing the same thing over and over and over. It's gets tiring after a while, doesn't it? And after a while, we get worn out from doing whatever we are doing. Whether it's going to always working on reports or always working without any days off. Whether it's always fixing the same thing over and over and over again. And yet St. Paul is telling the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!" As human beings, we rejoice when we are happy. When our favorite sports team scores late in a game and wins, we rejoice. When we are with good friends that we haven't seen for a while, we rejoice. We rejoice when we get a raise at work. We rejoice when a difficult project gets completed. And yet most people don't constantly rejoice, do they? Sometimes our favorite sports team doesn't win the game. Sometimes we get overwhelmed at work. Sometimes we get bad news. Sometimes we get angry. Do we rejoice in these situations? No. And yet St. Paul reminds the Philippians . . . as he does us . . . . to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" The key is to set our mind to rejoicing no matter what. The key is to remind ourselves that life is sometimes good . . . . sometimes it's bad. Sometimes we are healthy, other times we get sick. Sometimes we get a raise at work. But sometimes we get laid off from a job. Again, life is not one constant, straight path where nothing ever changes and always stays the same. If it was that way, it seems to me that it would be somewhat boring. Sometimes things get difficult in life. But if we remind ourselves that God is always with us, even in the bad times, then we can rejoice. Even in the times that things seem the darkest, as long as we keep our minds focused on God being with us, we know that we will get through whatever faces us. God loves us more than we will ever know. How do I know this, you ask? I know it because He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins. He sent His Son into the world to walk among us, to be with us, to eat with us, to talk with us, to witness our good times and our bad times. God knows that life is not always easy for us. And yet Our Blessed Lord is always with us . . . in the good times and the bad. And we are called to always rejoice in that fact. As we are on the doorstep of Christmas on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, let us not get overwhelmed by life, but rather let us rejoice that God sent His Son into the world to be with us always. Let us remember that God is with us when we are on the mountain top but He is also with us when we are far down in the valley. Let us rejoice that God is always with us.
Have you ever tried to do something "non-stop"? In other words, you kept doing the same thing over and over and over. It's gets tiring after a while, doesn't it? And after a while, we get worn out from doing whatever we are doing. Whether it's going to always working on reports or always working without any days off. Whether it's always fixing the same thing over and over and over again. And yet St. Paul is telling the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!" As human beings, we rejoice when we are happy. When our favorite sports team scores late in a game and wins, we rejoice. When we are with good friends that we haven't seen for a while, we rejoice. We rejoice when we get a raise at work. We rejoice when a difficult project gets completed. And yet most people don't constantly rejoice, do they? Sometimes our favorite sports team doesn't win the game. Sometimes we get overwhelmed at work. Sometimes we get bad news. Sometimes we get angry. Do we rejoice in these situations? No. And yet St. Paul reminds the Philippians . . . as he does us . . . . to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" The key is to set our mind to rejoicing no matter what. The key is to remind ourselves that life is sometimes good . . . . sometimes it's bad. Sometimes we are healthy, other times we get sick. Sometimes we get a raise at work. But sometimes we get laid off from a job. Again, life is not one constant, straight path where nothing ever changes and always stays the same. If it was that way, it seems to me that it would be somewhat boring. Sometimes things get difficult in life. But if we remind ourselves that God is always with us, even in the bad times, then we can rejoice. Even in the times that things seem the darkest, as long as we keep our minds focused on God being with us, we know that we will get through whatever faces us. God loves us more than we will ever know. How do I know this, you ask? I know it because He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins. He sent His Son into the world to walk among us, to be with us, to eat with us, to talk with us, to witness our good times and our bad times. God knows that life is not always easy for us. And yet Our Blessed Lord is always with us . . . in the good times and the bad. And we are called to always rejoice in that fact. As we are on the doorstep of Christmas on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, let us not get overwhelmed by life, but rather let us rejoice that God sent His Son into the world to be with us always. Let us remember that God is with us when we are on the mountain top but He is also with us when we are far down in the valley. Let us rejoice that God is always with us.
Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.
Please consider joining us for Mass. Come hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Consider setting aside an hour of your week where you can dedicate that time solely to God. Come hear the Word of God. Listen to God speaking to you directly and hear what He has to say for YOU! Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time to be strengthened and nourished for your journey!
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