Ephesians 1:1-10 / Luke 11:47-54
The celebration of a birthday is a celebration of life and love.
We celebrate that day when a new life came into the world.
And we welcomed that new life with love.
As we reflect on life and love we also turn to God who is the Giver of life and love.
Our birthdays mark that particular day when we came into this world.
Before that we were already conceived in our mother’s womb and our life has already started there.
But the first reading brings us even further back.
The first reading says this: Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ.
That makes us realise that we already existed in God’s plan right from the beginning.
God chose us for His own kind purpose, to make us praise the glory of His grace.
And in Christ, we gain our freedom and the forgiveness of our sins.
So, God chose us to proclaim His saving love to all peoples.
In the face of wickedness and evil, in the face of killings and murders, let us be proclaimers and witnesses of God’s gift of life and saving love.
God’s love will always prevail, and in the end Jesus Christ will gather all of us who are faithful to His kingdom.
There we will praise God forever for His gift of life and love to us.