Lk 3:10-18
Zeph 3:14-18a
Phil 4:4-7
focus: The Lord is near. We are called upon to make our ways his ways.
In a group retreat one participant, I call her Jane, shared about a very difficult time in her life. Jane had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. She had surgery and chemotherapy. When the chemo just had started, Jane was told by her landlord that she could not stay in her apartment. She had to look for a new place to live and had to move. The health care professionals with whom she shared this information looked at her with wide eyes and terror in their faces. To move in this situation while on chemo would be sure death sentence!
Then Jane shared about good people who suddenly showed up in her life. Some brought her food, others helped with packing up kitchen items and other belongings, again others helped with the move itself. Somebody started a Go-Fund-Me campaign and raised several thousand dollars to help pay for storage, for professional movers and for other expenses.
All these people were angels for me, Jane said. I didn’t know that they cared about me so much! I wouldn’t be here without them. My cancer is in remission! Now, Jane says, I want to reciprocate. I try to be kind to the folks I meet every day: the clerk in the grocery store, the stressed looking employee at the fast-food place…I try to do good wherever I can.
In today’s gospel we meet John the Baptist. He calls upon the people to reform their lives. The things he asks them to do are quite specific: All are meant to share their possessions with others. Whatever they don’t need for their own livelihood, they should give away. This is in our Western societies today at least as big a challenge as it was at John’s time! Share your food, share your clothing, your means, your time, with those who do not have enough to live on!
Tax collectors and soldiers also come to John. They were despised or hated by many of their contemporaries, because they cooperated with the Roman occupying power. John welcomes them. “What shall we do,” they ask. John’s answer: Do your job correctly and justly! Do not take advantage of other people!
But John’s message is not only a challenge to his listeners, it also gives them hope. He points to the “one mightier than I,” the Christ, the Messiah, who is going to be coming soon.
The topic of 3rd Sunday of Advent is the nearness of the Lord, which is a reason for joy. For the Old Testament prophet Zephaniah, ‘Lord,’ is ‘the God of Israel.’ His nearness means hope to return from exile, from a foreign land, in the near future. The people will have a home again!
In St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, is the ‘Lord’ who is near is Jesus. He is near as the one who once came and was born in Bethlehem. He is near as the one who will come in glory at the end of time, at the end of our life. And he is near to us every day in our own hearts, in the people with whom we live, and in those who share our life with us on this planet.
My sisters and brothers, the Lord is near. We are called upon to make our ways his ways, to do what we do with his inspiration, with his strength and in his name. St. Paul shows us how to do that.
First, prayer is essential. Instead of allowing worries to fill you, hold out your whole life, your world, in prayer to God, Paul says: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.”
Then “the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds.” This peace will not allow negative thoughts, which don’t come from the Holy Spirit, to control us inwardly.
This in turn will make it possible to be people of kindness: Our kindness, originating in a serene, peaceful and joyful heart, will be known to all. If we live in this fashion, we may find ourselves suddenly to be angels for others. AMEN.
~Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB