Following is the text of the Forward Day by Day meditation for December 13, 2009, the third Sunday in Advent. Forward Day by Day meditations are written anonymously, otherwise I would love to credit the author. As it is, I shall credit Forward Day by Day itself and Forward Movement Publications.
This meant even more to me by the sheer fact that it was the meditation for that particular day. My mother died on Friday, December 13, 2002, and every December 13 as well as every Friday the 13th since then, I hold her memory especially close and say a prayer for her. I know she is watching over me. I love you, Mom.
With that, the rest of this post is the author’s meditation on the Epistle reading for that day. I hope you enjoy it and find it as meaningful as I did and still do.
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Philippians 4:4-7. Rejoice in the Lord always.
Really? Always? But Lord…
“Yes, always. I’ve noticed that you’re joyful enough when the flowers bloom and the balmy breezes blow. But why no joy when you lost your job, when your wife left you, and when you had to take a second mortgage on your home? Maybe you thought I’d left you then, that I am with you only amidst the flower blossoms and the warm breezes. But when Paul wrote about rejoicing in me always, he was chained in a prison cell. He rejoiced even there. Paul knew that I lay next to him on that cold stone floor while the mice and roaches crawled over him. He rejoiced not because happy things were happening (they weren’t), but because he knew I loved him. And I love you, too. In fact, I am closest to you when you are most debilitated, fearful, despondent, and helpless. It is then that I hold you most closely to my heart.
“Feel my arms around you. After crucifixion comes resurrection. So it was with me and so it will be with you, for I am with you and you are mine. I claim you for my own. I love you and I always will, come what may. Rejoice in me. Always.”
