November 28 Devotion

The Present of Presence

God sent a present into the world, the gift of a loving presence named Jesus. The gospel stories indicate that Jesus gave few material things to people. What he gave most was his personal presence, gifts that were treasures of the heart: belief in self, inner healing, peace of mind, compassion, forgiveness, dignity, and justice. This loving presence lives on in us and is the central focus of Christmas gift-giving.

Sharing the gift of personal presence means that we see ourselves as a gift holding the goodness of Jesus who is Emmanuel, God-with-us. Like Jesus, we can give from our inner abundance, gifts from the heart. Moments lovingly spent with another through prayer or through personal presence carry more beauty and have more endurance than anything material we could give. What greater gifts could we share than ones that reflect the one Great Love we have known in the person of Jesus: our care and concern, our hope, our joy, our understanding and forgiveness, our kindness, our patience?

When I think of my hurried pace of life, I see myself as deeply entrenched in my western culture. I look at how Advent gets lost in "the Christmas rush". The messages are all around me: "Buy this and you will be happy; buy that and you will prove your love." Sharing presence is hard to do in a culture that keeps promoting material things as a sign of how much we love others. Sharing presence is difficult in an environment that encourages us to be as busy as possible so that we will be rich, successful, and important---and able to buy more things.
When we are busy, rushed, and pressed it is easy to miss awareness and union with those around us and with those in our larger world. Advent is a good season to be more deliberate in sharing the present of our presence every day. It may be through a phone call, a letter, a visit, or through the bonding of prayer as we focus love and attention toward those who need the strength of God to be with them.

The following are suggestions for "being with" others during Advent, one for each of the twenty-five days before Christmas. You may think of other ways to share your presence in order to deliberately choose "being" over "doing". When the feast of Christmas arrives may you be more aware of the power of Emmanuel's presence within you and your ability to warm the lives of others because of the Gift of Love.

Taken from Out of the Ordinary, copyright 2000, by Joyce Rupp. Used by Permission of Ave Maria Press. All rights reserved.

Suggestions for Giving the Present of Presence

Here are two possible ways to be with someone: (a) be physically present with another or (b) be present "in spirit" by deliberately sending prayer, compassionate thoughts, and kind feelings toward another person or group. Either approach could be appropriate for each of the following suggestions.

Be with someone who needs you.
Be with a person who gives you hope
Be with those who live in terror and fear.
Be with an older person.
Be with someone who has helped you to grow.
Be with one who is in pain.
Be with a war-torn country.
Be with yourself.
Be with someone who has written to you.
Be with a child.
Be with a refugee who is fleeing from harm.
Be with an enemy or someone you dislike.
Be with a farmer losing his or her land.
Be with someone who has terminal illness.
Be with the homeless.
Be with those who suffer from substance abuse.
Be with hungry children.
Be with a coworker.
Be with those whose hope is faint.
Be with world leaders.
Be with someone in your family.
Be with men and women in prison.

Be with someone working for justice.
Be with those who are abused and neglected.
Be with your loved ones.

Taken from Out of the Ordinary, copyright 2000, by Joyce Rupp. Used by Permission of Ave Maria Press. All rights reserved.

Submitted by Vicky Shreve