SundayGospelReflection.org

Gospel Reflection 20061217

Media pressures us to be the same, to fall in line.The point of media is to persuade, send a message, move you to do or believe something. Compliance is an important element in any advertisement. Do this, wear that, buy this and you'll be accepted. Since this is a built-in desire most of us have, it’s a powerful hook that teens and adults find difficult to resist. The more you can accept yourself, like yourself and be comfortable with who you are, the less these media will be able to influence you to go with the crowd. Try to find what the real, deep-down reasons are for your choices. When your answers relate back to what the media hype tells you—"it would be cool; it will make you part of the in crowd"—it's time to make other choices.

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Charity for All
GaudeteDecember 17, 2006Third Sunday of Advent
Luke 3:10-18The crowds asked John the Baptist, "What then 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 Messiah. 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.


Advent, a time of patient waiting, preparation, and joyful anticipation often degenerates into a hectic round of making lists, pushing through stores, pretending enjoyment and consuming conspicuously.
In this Advent season our thoughts naturally turn to generous impulses. This is the one period of the year when the sentiments of the liturgy closely match those of the culture. Yes, many complain about the commercialization of Christmas. That is the sorry side of things. But we must also look at the good side which dwells on the noble impulses of people. Above all we are called to contemplate the generosity of God who sends us a Savior who delivers us from sin and offers us a share of divine life.
The Gospel reports the excitement aroused by the charismatic preaching of John the Baptist. People who speak with conviction will attract attention. John’s powerful moral voice drew crowds to the banks of the Jordan. His fiery sermons spoke to something very real in their lives. He motivated them to change their lives. “What shall we do,” asked the crowds. John challenged them to acts of charity and social concern. They should clothe the poor and feed the hungry. Nothing will bring greater joy to those they serve and those who do the loving.
Tax collectors asked him for instruction and guidance. They knew that people hated them for collaborating with the Roman government. They exploited their own people, increasing their take by adding hidden costs for their services as tax agents. John did not tell them to give up their jobs, but he did command them to stop cheating people. They should not use their authority to take more money than was allowed by the law.
Soldiers asked John for moral instruction. As troops of occupation, they found numerous ways to intimidate and bleed the local people. John confronted them with their well-known crimes of violently robbing farmers and villagers and of using false witnesses to extort money from small businesses. He snapped the spell of their greed by telling them, “Be satisfied with your wages.”
"Teacher, what should we do?" What he tells them is simple, very uncomplicated, and very direct…change. He challenges them to change the way they treat people. "Stop collecting more than what is prescribed" "Do not practice extortion…or falsely accuse anyone." "Be satisfied with your wage."
The evangelist could have probably gone on with other examples: priests, be holy and humble of heart; husbands and wives, be faithful, open to God’s will and self-sacrificing for your children; public servants, respect the law of God and serve the common good, etc..
To know true joy in one’s heart, spirit, body, relationships and work, freedom from sin, from ambiguity, double motives, mundane habits of thinking and acting, are all necessary. We all like clean clothes, but nobody likes to do the laundry. John the Baptist and all the prophets before him, as well as all the apostles and pastors after him, must point out where we are in need of cleansing so that we can be truly free to rejoice in purity of heart. The Messiah came to dwell with sinners, but in order to cleanse them of the defilement of sin, not to bless their sin. The Baptist heralds that coming precisely by calling for repentance, a profound and willing change of heart whereby the sinner desires to surrender his sin to the cleansing fires of the Holy Spirit of the Messiah.
If John appears to be a prophet of doom and gloom, we must ask ourselves if that is because we are unwilling to exchange our “worldly jollity” for heavenly joy. Sin has such a knack of fooling us into thinking that things are the opposite of what they are, that words mean the opposite of what they mean, that sin is not sin but having a “jolly good time”. Surely this is why so many today justify their sin and have the naivety, or the audacity, to expect Jesus simply to accept them as if they were without sin. They expect the Church to change Her teaching, the catechism to be rewritten and the Scriptures to be edited by someone from the “in-crowd” of modern liberal thinking. But contrary to such a self-deceptive approach, the John the Baptists of history speak up about what is and what is not sin, and they do so, not to leave us groveling in abject guilt, but in order to lead us forth to the joy of repentance and salvation. The Baptist embodies tough evangelical love and therefore tough evangelical joy. A priest, prophet or pastor who leaves his people in their sin is culpably blind, culpably lazy or culpably cowardly. If a parent sees a child do what is harmful and does nothing, he or she is failing in the fundamental responsibility to love that child. But how much that child will love their parent, at least later on, when they understand that discipline and correction put love before popularity! True joy is like the spiritual energy which is born from the warmth of true love, and true love cannot coexist with sin, although it madly loves the sinner. Joy does not exist in a vacuum, whereas sin is very much at home in it.
All you have to remember is how to spell J O Y, what each letter stands for, and the order of the letters. ‘J’ stands for ‘Jesus’, and just as ‘J’ is the first letter of JOY, so Jesus should always be ‘first’ in our lives. ‘O’ stands for ‘others’, and just as ‘O’ is the second letter of JOY, we should always think of others ‘second’ in our lives. The ‘Y’ stands for ‘you’, and just as ‘Y’ is the last letter of JOY, we should always think of ourselves ‘last’. Therefore, to bring true JOY into your life, always think of Jesus first, others second and yourself last.
John the Baptist in today’s gospel was a good example of this.
One of the important things that we can do to live more peacefully, happier and closer to God, is to have a spirit of sharing. We should be people who give freely. Just like that, as if instead of giving, someone was giving something to you. We should be poor in spirit, even when we have more than enough money to get by.
Saint John also shows us that we should be honest in our way of life, that we should not try to take advantage of others. And he tells us that even if we see that someone is trying to take advantage of us, even when by doing good we will be thought of as fools, we should still share, we should not be discouraged, we should always be willing to continue to help others.
What state of mind and soul am I in?
This is a matter of being truly in touch with what is going on in my own heart and soul.
In other words, being aware as fully as I can of what it is I am bringing to the Mass in all its profundity, so that I might be helped, healed, renewed, encouraged.
We ought to take time to make an examination of conscience.
What in me is not compatible with God?
What attitudes are not worthy of one who has been baptized into Christ and the Church?
What is my life-style saying about my faith?
Is my morality truly Christian or is it secularized or pagan?
So, in other words, we should be taking a look not just at the rights and wrongs of specific behaviors.
In some sense, that is easy.
But we should also be looking at what winds are blowing in our conscious life.
What path am I plotting for myself by the way I live, the attitudes, the impulses and the preferences I show?
"The crowds asked John, ‘What should we do?'" John told them to share their clothing and food with those who had none. He told tax collectors to "Stop collecting more than what is prescribed." He told soldiers to stop extortion, false accusation and be satisfied with their wages. He told the crowd to change their lives by sharing the goods and gifts they had with others who had none, to be fair with others and to be satisfied with their wages. Most of them were poor and, today, would probably fall below the poverty level. The vocation to holiness was a radical conversion in their lives. It was tough. It meant self-denial, sacrifice and service to others. It would have been easier if John was the Messiah but John denied he was the Christ. He eased their disappointment by saying someone mightier than he was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John’s preaching of the good news has two principal components: (a) the invitation to live a Godly life, and (b) the invitation to believe in Jesus the Messiah.
The Invitation to Live a Godly Life
This appears to be the emphasis in John’s preaching. Various groups of people who heard John preach responded by asking, “What then should we do?” (Luke 3:10, 12, 14). To the crowds or the masses his answer was: “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise” (verse 11). Accepting the gospel demands a change in one’s personal conduct. One becomes a person who loves to share, rather than a person who loves to accumulate the good things of life. To the tax collectors he answered: “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you” (verse 13). And to the soldiers he answered: “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages” (verse 14). To them he enjoined honesty and fairness in their business dealings and professional conduct. The gospel is a leaven that affects every aspect of our personal, business and social life. To repent is to turn from evil and do good. “Only believe, and you will be saved” is at best a half-truth.
The tendency among us Christians today is to emphasize the belief aspect at the expense of moral behaviour. For John, however, change of behaviour came first, before change of belief. The synthesis of John’s preaching was, “the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). For him repentance, turning away from selfishness to a Godly behaviour, precedes and accompanies belief.
As we prepare to celebrate the coming of God to His people in the birth of Jesus, let us call to mind that the basic problem with Christian faith today is that we profess to believe but do not match it with practical behaviour. This self-contradiction constitutes a stumbling block for would-be believers, who are often attracted by the person and teachings of Christ but are turned away by the behaviour of those who claim to be his followers. John prepared his people for the coming of Jesus by challenging them to mend their ways and believe his message. We cannot do better than that. The best preparation we can make for the birth of the Lord is to repent and guide our behaviour by the selfless teachings of the gospel. This is what is needed today to make our faith perfect so that we can stand with heads raised high in joy at the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The Invitation to Believe in Jesus the Messiah
To accept the gospel, however, does not mean simply to strive to be a good person. It means above all to be a person of faith, a person who believes in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. The people to whom John preached were beginning to mistake him for the Messiah. If they did so, they would be mistaken in their belief, their zeal and goodwill notwithstanding. It is possible for a believer to be full of goodwill and zeal for the Lord, to be blameless in both personal and professional behaviour, yet be in error in his or her beliefs. An essential part of imparting the good news is to point out possible errors in belief and help the believer to move from an imperfect and naive to a more perfect and mature knowledge of the doctrine of Christ. This is what John the Baptizer did.
John touched a great many of his listeners. He converted their hearts and watched with joy as they waded into the Jordan for his baptism. Songs of praise arose from Jordan’s banks as the stream of penitents let the waters wash them with a ritual cleansing and give them a new sense of how to live before God.
So exciting was John that many people wondered if he were the expected messiah. John quickly disabused them of this misconception. He approved their expectation, but denied that he was the messiah. He told them that one “mightier than I” was coming. Cupping the river water in his hands, he said he only baptized with water. The Messiah would baptize with water and the Holy Spirit.
Despite his tough, moral talk, John the Baptist filled his hearers with great expectation. They wondered: could this be the Messiah? They intuited in John not just a moral teacher, but a man so filled with personal integrity, so inspiring, that his very presence stirred the depths of their longing for the presence of the Christ. But John is no impostor: he makes it clear he is not the Christ. He also makes it clear that the Christ whose coming is very near will also have some tough talking to do, and tougher action to take. He will rid the world of its chaff, those incapable, because unwilling, of accepting baptism in the fire of the Holy Spirit. But He will also gather unto Himself those who have longed for His coming with expectation, whose lives may not be perfect, but whose hearts seek the consolation of His mercy in that same fire of the Holy Spirit.

Most of us have reason, sometimes overwhelming, to live with a nagging sense of pain, sadness and even depression: a difficult childhood, abuse of any kind, a broken marriage, a betrayal in love, an invincible sense of worthlessness sometimes made worse by a failure in work or in love. There are perhaps moments or periods where we can escape from this inner plague, but, when the party is over and the lights are out, it returns relentlessly and without pity. People try to cheer us up, offer diversions and distractions of one kind or another, some healthy, some unhealthy. Yet for many it is almost impossible to be rid of that radical anxiety which sounds deep within us like an alarm bell that never stops. Do not our addictions, mental illnesses, compulsive behaviors and awkward characters all speak of that hidden pain we are unable to face?
But what if there were Someone whose presence in our lives were capable of turning off that alarm-bell? Probably for must of us, there is indeed some-one or even some-two who can help greatly to bring us peace. Yet very quickly the noise within can start turning them away, even a spouse, and we can find ourselves repeating that most tragic of antiphons: “no-one can really understand my pain.” It is so easy, alas, to get sucked down into a whirlpool of existential Angst, an experience that cannot be far from hell itself in the sense that we get lost in self-concern and self-pity. The Gospel proclaims that Christ, the Messiah, can reach down and set in counter-motion that whirlpool. Christ alone can live your pain with you and, indeed, feel it more deeply than you do yourself. To believe and trust in Him as the silent guest of your deepest heart is already to know the hope of healing and freedom from whatever plague afflicts the foundations of your being. Essentially, that trust and faith in Him is nothing other than the act of repentance, that which the Baptist cries out for in the inner desert of your heart when he urges: prepare the way of the Lord! And what is the way of the Lord if not the highways of the human heart? Why else does He come if it is not to fill the valley and canyons and potholes left by the sufferings of life, and lay low the mountains of our pride and illusory self-exaltation?
Neither the Baptist nor the Messiah he heralds comes with a magic formula to transform the inner landscape of our spirits. The Baptist rather cries out: stop! Look this way for the One who desires to come into your life in its past, present and future, and make yourself ready to welcome Him! Jesus comes to establish an eternal relationship of love with each one of us: to walk our walk that we might walk His walk. He comes to engage us in an intimate, wordless dialogue, in a profound spiritual embrace that we may learn to forgive ourselves, forgive those who have deeply pained us and so be healed in surrendering our personal history to Him. Many of you have probably already begun the journey of that deep and absorbing relationship with Christ. Gaudete Sunday for you is thus a celebration of what has been and what is yet to come. To those who still feel He is far, I say: behold, He is near, at the door of your heart; listen for His knock, and open, not fearing your own confusion or dishevelment. He comes not to condemn, but to save you, and if you would but open and trust Him, He will bring you the unfading joy of His divine love.
This deep encounter with the Messiah is the meaning of Holy Communion. All the sacraments, our Sunday Mass attendance, our prayers and works of charity and our sufferings are all intended to deepen our knowledge, love and profound awareness of the presence of Christ within us, in others, in the Church and in the world around us. Like any relationship, it requires work and perseverance, commitment and time. Unlike any other relationship, only the Messiah can liberate us definitively from the grief of our sin and of our human experience, for He alone can cleanse us with the fire of the Holy Spirit. In Him is the final and definitive well-spring of true joy: we need only press our lips against His wounded side to know the power of His healing love and divine joy. John the Baptist’s own joy was full when, as the Bridegroom’s friend, He heard the voice of the Bridegroom Himself come and claim His Bride. My brothers and sisters, it seems almost impossible to believe, but that Bride are we, and Christ the Messiah will not rest until He holds us in the eternal joy of His arms. So, rejoice! Be not anxious, be not afraid, be not dismayed. Rather: be Christ’s!
We can take time to focus on the Lord. Jesus said the first great commandment is to love your God. There is no way to build a relationship of love with someone without spending time with them. God takes no lunch breaks – God always “is” for us – this hour that we spend here is not enough. Schedule prayer time in your Palm Pilot if that’s what it takes – just take time to be aware of your God.
We can take time to focus on the needs of those around us. Jesus said the second great commandment to love of neighbor. The sign of the presence of God, as Jesus says in Matthews gospel today, is that healing and love and care of those in need is happening. Whenever we take time for another, to listen to them, to help them, to love them, to forgive them, to heal them, to touch them…whenever we do these things we are using time as our divine gift.

In the words of St. Paul, “It is not ourselves that we preach, but Jesus Christ, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
This statement holds true also for parents, school teachers and anyone else who imparts the Gospel to others.
We are all “John the Baptists”; we are all, in our own way, supposed to prepare the way for those we teach to meet the living Jesus, to experience the power of his fire and of his Holy Spirit.
We step forward to proclaim him; then we must step back so that he may come and take center stage.
Lord, for you, charity is the highest value. You even spoke about it the night before your death. "I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you, so you also should love one another" (John 13:34). Christmas should enkindle charity in my heart. Let me see you in every person I meet today.
In the joyous urgency of Advent may we feel moved to the core of our being to ask as once the people at the Jordan asked, “What must I do?”

posted by Mike Young @ 6:31 AM