December 10
Beloved families of Good Shepherd,
Peace be with you! This coming Sunday marks the third Sunday in Advent as we move toward the great Mystery of Christmas. Some churches light a pink candle on the third Sunday in Advent to symbolize the joy of the angels who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds. Our children’s Godly Play Advent story for the third Sunday in Advent centers on the words of the angels to the fearful shepherds. This story says the shepherds were watching over their sheep in the fields near Bethlehem one night when they saw a bright light in the sky. The shepherds were afraid until they heard these words from the angels: “Don’t be afraid. We bring you tidings of great joy. Peace on earth and good will to everyone. A Child is born. Go. Hurry. Run to Bethlehem to see the Child who will change everything.”
Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish writer and mystic who died in Auschwitz Concentration Camp in 1943, realized that learning to listen deeply is essential for our spiritual growth. Etty writes, “Things come and go in a deeper rhythm, and people must be taught to listen; it is the most important thing we have to learn in this life.” Another mystic, St. Benedict of Nursia, also understood that learning to listen is our most important spiritual work. In the Prologue of his 5th-century monastic Rule, St. Benedict encourages his community to first “listen with the ear of your heart.” This is a deep kind of listening that is quiet, curious, and attentive to the action of God within, through others, and within sacred texts.
In our Advent story for this Sunday, the shepherds’ fear was transformed into joy when they listened and received the Good News of the birth of Christ into their hearts. May it also be that way for us this Advent season. May our fears gently dissolve as we listen slowly and deeply to the truth spoken by the angels—news of joy, peace, goodwill, and Love incarnate in the child Jesus, who has changed everything for eternity. We do not have to fear anything because of the birth of Jesus. Jesus said He came into the world so that His joy may be in us and that our joy may be complete! (John 15:11)