Rejoice...The Lord is With You!

One of the themes I have come to appreciate most in the Christmas story is that of God's being among us, of becoming one of us not in majesty and power but sharing in our humanity in all the struggles and trials that implies. I derive much hope and peace from the fact that God meets us where we are, dwelling within the circumstances of our lives, using each situation to bring us closer and closer to his most loving heart.

God is with us. Our lives are drenched with God's presence and involvement, even though we may not be able to see it in any given situation, except perhaps in hindsight. And it's okay if we cannot see how God is working in our lives. We are, after all, too close to see the big picture. This is where faith comes to our aid; some things have to be believed to be seen.

We are all on a journey, and we are all in this together. And while the destination is not unimportant (to understate it), we must understand that it is the journey itself that prepares us for the destination. This is why Jesus keeps calling us to love one another, for we can only make the journey supporting each other.

Our destination is of course union with God, a concept so wonderful in light of the Incarnation that our minds can just barely begin to comprehend what that means. Even though our destination is God, let us not forget that God is with us, using the journey of our lives and the means through which our goal will be achieved. And during those inevitable and unavoidable dark periods, let us remember Gabriel's words to Mary, "Rejoice, so highly favored! The Lord is with you!"