Meditation

Read Acts 2:41-47

Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts.

—Acts 2:46 (NRSV)

In our culture, we celebrate the end of the year with a New Year’s Eve party with our friends. We always have an array of food and enjoy music, dancing and friendly conversation.

About three years ago, I joined a Christian church. We celebrate our year-end gatherings differently now. A small group from our church meets at my home. We continue to enjoy our delicious food but also make time for worship and singing praise to God. The best part is listening to our different stories of God’s protection—the marvelous things God has accomplished in our lives throughout the year—and then giving thanks to God for it all. We are inspired by the Holy Spirit as we speak of what our faith means to us and of our abiding hope for the coming year. To be sure, we continue to learn and grow in our understanding of God. But we look to the future with faith and full assurance, determined to bear witness so that others will know and experience God’s love and protection.

Prayer—God of hope, we ask for your loving guidance and blessing wherever people gather to learn, worship and pray. Amen.

Thought for the Day—Today I will tell others of my abiding hope in God.

Annabella Lemos Cernaz (Valle del Cuaca, Colombia)