Sunday Reflections
“What should I do to rejoice in the Lord?”
The crowds asked John the Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?”
He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people (Lk3:10-18). Taken from today’s gospel for the 3rd Sunday of Advent.
2. Today, the 3rd Sunday of Advent, traditionally called gaudete Sunday, Sunday of joy, is the Sunday that we celebrate the nearness of the coming Christ. With this Sunday we have only one more Sunday to end the season of advent. The readings today openly invite us to rejoice, to be overtly happy in a way that is noticeable to anyone around us. The question is: how can we be happy when we are surrounded by so many uncertainties? How can one be happy when his/her problems are not solved? The prophet Zephaniah in today’s first reading says that our joy will come from the fact that the God who is coming is a mighty Lord who has the power to defend those who trust in him. He is eager to restore and even dance for his people as on the day of festival.
3. In the gospel John Baptist teaches that the Lord is nearer than we can imagine. To discover this Lord one has to do three simple things: share what you have with those who have nothing, be gentle with those over whom you exercise some authority, be conscious of the judgement day that will come with the Lord.
4. What does it mean to share? John used the example of sharing the basic necessities of life namely food and clothing. “Whoever has two cloaks must share with the person who has none. Whoever has food should do the same.” The God that we are waiting for is already there hungry and naked, waiting for us to support him from our abundance. Today we have a thousand and one reasons for not wanting to hear the cry of the poor: “they are lazy, they are wicked, they are not intelligent”. These are some of the reasons that people give to justify their hard heartedness towards the poor and needy. How many people will die of hunger and malnutrition today while so many food items will be thrown away by people in the same neighborhood? For John we can only be happy when we have shared our clothes and food with those who urgently need them. No reason, no matter how erudute and rational can excuse anyone from sharing his food and clothing with those who truly lack them because of poverty. We cannot share with everybody but we must not stay without sharing. We cannot be indifferent to the needy when we can help out. The sin of the rich man against Lazarus in St Luke’s gospel was his indifference to the poor man. The advent period is a time that each one must try to share something with someone.
5. In responding to the question of the tax collectors and the soldiers John touched another virtue that is necessary for meeting Christ. He noted that those who have authority over others must exercise it with kindness and avoid intimidating and defrauding others because of their position. This was directed to tax collectors and soldiers but it extends to all in position of advantage over others. It is all about our relationship with others: husband to wife, parents to children, director to junior staff etc. How do people feel after having encounter with you? Recognizing the presence of God in every person that we meet helps us to treat them well. A story was told about a Buddhist monastery where love and respect were lacking and things were falling apart. The superior went and consulted a guru to know what to do. He was told that their problem comes from the fact that one of persons in the monastery was an incarnate of the holy one and they were treating him without respect. When the superior announced the news to the members there was a change of attitude in the community: love and respect returned and the monastery began to flourish again. The Christ we are waiting for is already in our midst.
6. Whether you are being charitable by sharing your food and clothing with the poor or whether you are treating others with love and respect, you should know that you are involved in seed sowing. The coming of Christ is a time of reaping whatever has been sown. Live your life as one who will be rewarded or punished for his/ her deeds. Always be guided by the natural principle that whatever you sow you will reap. John spoke of this when he said that the messiah will come to gather the good seed into his barn and have the chaff burnt. Strive to be among the good seeds.
@Vita, 12/12/21.
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