today's readings are Isaiah 49: 1-6; Psalm 139; Acts 13: 22-26 and Lk. 1: 57-66, 80
"What then will this child become?" For indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
In our gospel story of the Nativity of John the Baptist, the people are amazed. Amazed that an old woman could bear a child. Amazed that the father who was struck mute can now speak. And amazed at the precious gift of new life bestowed upon them. And the question they ask of the child, when you think about it, could be asked of every child - what will this child become?
Every child comes with the message that God has not yet given up on us. Every child is a gift from God. And the upbringing of the child is not restricted to the parents or the extended family, but in many ways, to all of us.
This is a reason why our parish has invested so much, in terms of time and money into ministry for our young. So we have 2 week Bible camp each summer for kids from Grade 2 through 5. We have the EDGE camp at the end of August. Our teens are going to Steubenville in a few days from now for a huge gathering. And then, we have our EDGE and Lifeteen programmes for our youth.
What then will this child become? How often I ask that question when I look on one of our little ones. The answer is who knows? But God has plans for each one of them. And we do our part to help enable that to happen.
P.S. in case you are wondering, the little boy (aged about 2.5) in the photo above is me. I'm sure that my parents had no idea of what I would become. One thing for sure - God had plans for me - as He does for you.