December 10 - A Confident Completion
Contributed by
Sister Jacinta Krecek, Roman Catholic minister at Goshen College on Wednesday December 10
Scripture
Philippians 1:3-11
Thanksgiving and Prayer
I thank my God every time I remember you.
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.
God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.
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Devotion
There is a story told about St.
Francis of Assisi -- One day as he was digging in the garden, he was asked,
"If Jesus were to return to earth today, what would you do?"
Without hesitating, Francis answered, "I would continue gardening."
Would we be so calm if we heard Jesus was coming back today? Or would we be desperately scrambling to get our lives in order? Confident enough that he was ready to meet the King, Francis would peacefully keep on about his business until Jesus' arrival.
In today's text, St. Paul expresses a similar confidence in the Philippians.
Seeing all the good that God had begun in them, he was certain that God
would continue bringing it to completion until "the day of Christ
Jesus." (1:6)
As this Christmas approaches and we recall the events surrounding the
first coming of Emmanuel, we need to remember: "God is with us!"
Let us humbly welcome Jesus into our lives today and each day.
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