Phil Wyman: Dim Saesneg

Advent December 4th: Saint Emerita’s Day
John 1:1-14
going out into “the world”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Whether the world is just outside my front door, or thousands of miles away, the missional person will desire to go to that place. Loving our neighbors extends itself out to the waiting world. Like God, Who sent His Son into the world, we also are sent into this world we already live in. Every person in need, every friend we meet, and every neighbor we greet is part of our world. Our concerns, our prayers, and our efforts to express the love of God

should always lead to ever-growing circles outward. The whole world is the domain of our love, and nothing short of that is truly the heart of the Gospel.

December 4 is Saint Emerita’s day. Emerita was the sister of Lleurwg (See December 3rd) with her brother, she left her home in Wales to take the Gospel into regions in Germany. Also like her brother she was martyred. She died in 193 AD near today’s Trimmis, Switzerland.

Prayer: Lord, my circle of friends and family is the world you have given me. Teach me to be faithful to share your love in my circle. Yet, I acknowledge that there is a world beyond my little world, and Your concern is for that larger circle as well. Lord, be with my eyes that they may see the needs of the world around me. Be with my hands that they may act to serve the world around me. Make my heart open to be like Saint Emerita, who with her brother, left her home to serve the world. Whether this world is outside my front door or across continents, and whether I leave for a afternoon or a lifetime, make me pliable to Your desires.