“Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.” These are words from today’s responsorial psalm and very familiar words for me since they are also the words of a hymn that was chosen for my ordination 33 years ago. “Here I am Lord, is it I Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.”

Our celebration of the birth of our Savior is over but I would hope that we would see it as a chance for a new beginning. We have seen Jesus portrayed as a helpless baby born into our world. Can we use each coming day, week, month as an opportunity to visualize Jesus’s physical growth…. toddler, youth, teenager, young adult … and vow to invite Him to grow ever stronger and more visible in our spiritual reflection.

Last week, Melanie and I watched a DVD that we had been given but had never watched before (it was still in the plastic wrap). It was a movie called “Joshua,”one based on a book by the same name written by Fr Joseph Girzone. In it, Jesus comes into a small town dressed as a young man in his 30s who has carpentry and fix-it skills. He chooses a humble barn as His home and workshop and, in the coming weeks, challenges a priest, a speech-disabled man, and a proud, controlling pastor to see themselves and others in a different light. He creates tension in these lives but a healthy tension that leads to a change of heart and new life for each of them. Such is the calling of each of us who have been initiated into Christ’s Body through Baptism. We are called to be a leaven that causes the dough of people’s lives to rise and become the bread which nourishes and strengthens not just themselves but their families and the family of Salem. In our 1st reading God tells us, “it is too little for you to be my servant … I will make you a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Let our response be: “Here I am Lord, send me!”

-Deacon David

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