Week 3 Advent Reading Plan

Our reading from the Advent Reading plan today is Matthew 2:9-12.  It reads as follows:

''Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.  But they were given a warning in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.''

READ:  Words that struck me when I read this scripture include
1. having listened to what the king had to say...

2. sight of the star filled them with delight.

3. falling to their knees they did him homage.

4.Then opening their treasures...

5.given a warning in a dream not to...

PONDER

My ponderings on these phases include:

1.The wise men gave them the King respect even though they probably realised that he did not want to do Christ homage at all but felt threatened.

2. Knowing or sensing the signs of God filled them with delight. How often am I filled with delight with the signs of God in my life?

3.When they entered the stable, the wise men fell on their knees to do homage. That was their first action when they arrived there. They understood that it was Christ- someone in higher authority than they were. They were prepared to be humble before someone greater than they and they were not afraid of Him as they knew their own worth.

4. After doing homage they then offered their gifts. How often do I offer my worries, concerns of the day to God before actually giving Him homage- the homage that is due to Him.

5. The wise men listened and when they were given a warning, followed through on it.  How many times in my life have I had a warning in some way and ignored it or at my own peril gone and done what I wanted? They listened and then acted and despite the longer route knew that they were on the right path.

ACT

We may wish to think of people in our lives who have some authority over us  eg boss or someone who has a special role at work, a parish priest or a parent.  We may not always agree with their position on a topic, but we can decide to act like the wise men and give them respect. It can be difficult to remain silent and give respect to someone who has authority over you and who you do not respect.  I have found myself over the years that giving the person respect despite my own opinions is far more valuable in building the relationship. Then once there is a sense of mutual respect, then there is the opportunity to share ideas respectfully.

Do the signs of God in our lives fill me with delight? Do I miss the signs?  What are the signs of God in my life- is Jesus my shining star which guides me? We may need to identify these signs from the past so that we might be aware of them for the future.We might also want to consider how we can act on these signs- like the wise men with delight.

How often do we not listen to the signs- maybe we do have a dream or maybe we have a gut feeling that something is not right or if we take a particular course of action that it does not sit well with us. These are signs- our body is sending us a red flag.
When we listen to our body, mind and spirit in these matters, we are in a better position to follow up on it. Often we do not give time to listen to the warning signs.

As we lead up to Christmas and head into Christmastide, may the ponderings and actions you decide for your life be blessed.