Reflection
Today’s Gospel reminds us that God’s love doesn’t wait for perfection. He shows up in the middle of our day-to-day lives, within our questions, the uncertainty, and the moments we are trying to figure out who we are becoming. Elizabeth’s pregnancy was not just a miracle; it was God’s love in action. It was God entering her story and restoring hope, reminding her that His promises are always rooted in love, the same love that He has already placed within us.
We can see God’s love in the way He names John before he was born. In Scripture, when God gives a name, He is giving a mission that flows directly from His love. Many of us are still discovering who God has named us to be, what gifts are within us, what strengths He may ask us to lean on, and where He is calling us to grow. Advent becomes a space for us to pause, listen, and let the love of Jesus shape the person we are becoming.
Zechariah’s silence speaks to something familiar: fear, doubt, or even feeling unworthy can lead us to close our hearts and forget that each of us is made individually by God’s very love. When Zechariah finally agrees with God’s plan and lets love lead, his voice returns. He can praise again. He can hope again. Where love restores what fear shuts down.
This Advent season invites us to do the same. To allow God to guide us from fear to trust, from old patterns to new ways of living, and bringing our uncertainty into God’s mission. As we prepare room for Jesus in our hearts by letting His love grow within us, we may become who God has called us to be. The mission given to us through love.
Let Jesus shape your mission and trust the person God is forming in your heart. To allow God to use your gifts, your strengths, and even your weakness to build resilience within you. As we prepare for Jesus’ birth, let yourself grow into the person God has already begun forming in your heart.
Jorge Mendoza MDiv, MS
Franciscan School of Theology