A few years ago, I was at a barbershop, and while getting my haircut, a woman shared with everyone in the room that she had a rough year. And because she had had a rough year, she decided to cancel Christmas. And the inner Buddy, the elf in me, freaked out. You can’t cancel Christmas. How can you do that? The reality is that the incarnation cannot be canceled. Christmas is cancel-proof because Jesus Christ is at the center of it all. We are on this Earth because of Jesus. We exist because of Jesus. We have meaning in our lives because of Jesus. We get eternal life because of Jesus. On this solemnity of the nativity of Jesus Christ, realize that Christmas is cancel-proof and that from this moment on to the end of your life, let Jesus Christ be at the center of it all because He already is. On behalf of Spirit Juice Studios, Merry Christmas.
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The Woman At The Well
You can often spot American tourists by one simple thing: the water bottle they carry everywhere. We’re always searching for the perfect way to stay hydrated, the next bottle, the next solution.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, the woman at the well has a different encounter. When she meets Jesus, she leaves her water jar behind. In His presence, the thing she once clung to suddenly doesn’t matter anymore.
That’s what happens when we stay close to Jesus. The things we hold onto so tightly begin to lose their grip, and we discover that He alone is enough.
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Be Consistent With Jesus
Maybe or maybe not you have a friend like this, someone who is so good at giving grand gestures, someone who really knows how to show you a good time. But that person then, like, ghosts you for two weeks straight. If we don’t have consistency in a friendship, then it just feels empty. And here is what Jesus is saying in this…
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Be Jesus for Others
Sometimes we imagine two extremes: people who follow rules without love, and others who talk about love without any truth or commitment. But Jesus gives us something completely different.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus says, “This is my commandment: love one another.” Love isn’t just a feeling we fall into, it’s something we choose. It’s active. It’s sacrificial. It’s becoming like Jesus for the people around us.
That’s the challenge of the Christian life: not just to feel love, but to live it. To choose, again and again, to be Christ for others.
