Conclusion: Justice and righteousness
Christmas Eve can be a frantic time as we try to get the last-minute Christmas preparations done: presents wrapped, meals cooked, friends and family welcomed or visited. But for a few moments, take time out to relax and allow the presence of God to fill your heart just as the sights and sounds and smells of Christmas fill wherever you are. Breathe out any anxieties, agitated planning and last-minute panic. Breathe in the gift of the Prince of Peace and ask him to be with you.
At the end of our Advent retreat, the waiting is nearly over. We’ve walked together as pilgrims of hope in this jubilee year, reflecting on God as the one who sets us free, relieves us of our burdens and gifts us with refreshment and renewal.
What insights and graces have come to you during this retreat? Has there been any invitation to growth or change, to let go of some burden in your life?
In his encyclical on hope, Pope Benedict writes: ‘The one who has hope lives differently’. How are you being invited to live differently as a pilgrim of hope?
We listen now to the final verses of our reading from Isaiah:
‘He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.’
This year has been marked by tragic conflict in the land where Jesus was born. It may have been difficult for you to pray with some of the retreat material as it speaks of peace, justice and righteousness, amongst the devastation of war.
At such times perhaps all we can do is stretch out our hands in petition, asking God to fulfil the promises given in Isaiah, to establish justice and righteousness wherever there is violence and oppression.
You may be aware of doubt, even cynicism in the face of so much suffering. A medieval Christmas carol sings of Jesus coming as quietly and unobtrusively as the dew. Sometimes God’s action is invisible to us. As pilgrims of hope we are also pilgrims of faith, believing in God’s saving power as Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the Magi did, even when all they could see before them was a helpless baby.
What Christmas gift do you want to pray for on this Christmas Eve, for yourself and those you love, for our world? Take time now to ask for whatever gift and grace you long for.
In the final time of prayer of this retreat, take time to be still in the stable of Bethlehem. Perhaps you are holding the newborn Jesus. Perhaps, like Mary, you are struggling with labour pains to bring something new to birth, or like Joseph, still trying to make sense of it all. However this Christmas Eve finds you, take time now to pray and express what is in your heart as Jesus the hope of our world and of every age is born.
O Wisdom, Lord and Ruler, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Radiant Dawn, King of the Nations, Emmanuel, Come, Lord Jesus.