On this last day of the year 2018, I would like to say thanks to all the readers who have followed this blog throughout the year. I hope this blog site has helped you in any way especially in deepening your Christian faith. I look forward to another year of writing interesting and enlightening blog and your continuous support and following of this blog.
I want to greet you and your loved ones a Blessed New Year 2019. May God grant you every blessings and graces for a wonderful and fruitful new year.
Christmas is the season for the family. It is the time of the year when all the members of the family needs to be together to celebrate Christmas. Each member of the family wherever he/she is, even if it is from the farthest point on earth, needs to come home to their families on Christmas.
Today, on the last Sunday of the year, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The Feast of the Holy Family is very much a part of the Christmas season. The Christmas story of God becoming man also involves the coming of God into a human family—the family of Mary and Joseph. God became man and dwelt amongst human family. Jesus, the son of God, experienced the joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties that any ordinary human family goes through. Christmas is the birth of God in the family in whatever situation we find our families today.
Joseph, Mary and Jesus, like any human family, encountered many hardships and problems. They suffered persecution when Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi. Joseph and Mary carrying the baby Jesus had to flee to Egypt to escape from the terror unleash by the tyrant Herod. The Holy Family, while raising up Jesus, had to endure the hardships and exploitation in 1st century Palestine under the Roman empire.
Thus, Christmas calls us to face the real situation and issues of our families inasmuch as it is a joyful time of gathering as a family. The joy that Christmas brings to the family is not an escapist joy nor it is the fleeting joy that numbs us and forgets all about the pain and sorrow within the family.
As we commemorate the dwelling of Jesus in our family on Christmas, we are called to become truly present to each member of our families. To be present to one another is to truly listen and accept each other. To be present to one another is to forgive and ask forgiveness from each other. Pope Francis wrote that forgiveness is essential in any family since there is no perfect family,
“There is no perfect family. We do not have perfect parents, we are not perfect, we do not marry a perfect person or have perfect children. We have complaints from each other. We disappoint each other. So there is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness. Forgiveness is vital to our emotional health and spiritual survival. Without forgiveness the family becomes an arena of conflict and a stronghold of hurt. “
Similarly, in the 2nd reading, St. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, talks about forgiveness and more on what it means to bring Christ into our family:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
The dwelling of Christ in the family transformed the married life of Joseph and Mary. When Joseph and Mary freely accepted God’s plan into their lives, their lives no longer revolved around their individual’s plans but the bigger plan of God for the whole human family. The future of the family of Joseph and Mary became essentially connected to Jesus’ mission of redemption.
Mary and Joseph, however, did not immediately grasp the mission of Jesus. We heard in the gospel today how they lost the little boy Jesus in the temple. And when they found him among the learned in the temple, they did not fully understand what Jesus told them about his mission.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
Mary and Jesus raised Jesus well. Mary and Joseph’s worthy upbringing of Jesus contributed much to his human growth and maturity. “And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”
The holy family was not a well-to-do family, they had to work hard to make ends meet. At an early age, Jesus learned the value of hard work and dedication. Jesus grew up to be a carpenter, just like Joseph (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). The holy family developed in the grace of God. They became open to God’s grace through their constant prayer as well as striving to do the will of God in their everyday lives.
Through these ways, the holy family is a model for every human family. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI spoke about this, especially the value of prayer, in a beautiful address on December 28, 2011, at a Wednesday audience,
The Holy Family is an icon of the domestic Church, which is called to pray together. The family is the first school of prayer where, from their infancy, children learn to perceive God thanks to the teaching and example of their parents. An authentically Christian education cannot neglect the experience of prayer. If we do not learn to pray in the family, it will be difficult to fill this gap later. I would, then, like to invite people to rediscover the beauty of praying together as a family, following the school of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
When Jesus became a grown up man and had to leave Joseph and Mary to begin his ministry, Mary and Joseph had to step aside for the mission of Jesus. They had accepted the fact, early on, that God’s mission even goes beyond the family.
When Jesus began his ministry, he preached the good news of God’s kingdom. In God’s kingdom, Jesus will gather a new family under God the Father which goes beyond family, blood, race, and culture. Mary has to give way to the new family that Jesus proclaimed and remained obedient and supportive of the mission of her son despite her lack of understanding. As Pope Benedict XVI states,
Then, when Jesus began his public ministry, [Mary] had to step aside, so that a new family could grow, the family which it was his mission to establish and which would be made up of those who heard his word and kept it (cf. Lk 11:27f).[1]
We find this in the gospel particularly in a scene in the gospel of Mark (Mark 3: 31 – 35). At a time when Jesus was persecuted and falsely accused, his mother and brothers were concerned about his welfare. So they went out to Jesus who was in the country preaching the gospel to the people. Surrounded by a crowd while Jesus was preaching, the word was passed on to Jesus: “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” Jesus’ response was “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
American scripture scholar Raymond Brown commented that Jesus’ response raises the issue of who really constitute his family now that the Kingdom of God is being proclaimed. As his natural family stands outside, Jesus looks at those inside and proclaims, “Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.”[2] Jesus’ response to the crowd is consistent with his other words to those wishing to follow him as he continues to proclaim the Kingdom of God:
Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life (Mark 10: 29 – 30).
In these remaining days of 2018, let us thank the Lord for the many blessings and guidance God has bestowed upon us throughout this year. As one family modeled after the Holy Family, let us, once again, ask God for every spiritual blessing and grace towards a fruitful New Year 2019.
Today we begin the Christmas season. Yes, this is just the beginning of Christmas in the liturgical calendar of the church. All that we have done in the past four weeks, in what we call the Advent season, are just preparations for Christmas.
For many of us, this maybe the climax of a long Christmas celebration which may have began as early as September. Many of us are perhaps exhausted, sleepy and have spent all our money from all the food, drinks and celebration of the past weeks. Despite these, the church invites us, all Christians, to celebrate the deeper mystery of Christmas. The incarnation of Jesus, the main event of Christmas, after all, is not dependent on how much money, material things, food, drinks, external decorations we have now but how much are we open, humble and alive to the promptings of the profound spiritual reality of the coming of Jesus in our lives.
The gospel on this Christmas day, is from the opening of John’s Gospel. There is no mention of Bethlehem, of Mary, of shepherds, or the stable and the manger. Nevertheless, this is a magnificent passage which delves into the deeper meaning of Christmas.
The most quoted text in the gospel is the words:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14)
Literally in Greek it reads, “the Word became flesh and pitched his tent/tabernacle among us.” These words allude to the tent of meeting (or tabernacle) that was the place of God’s presence among the people during their wandering through the desert in the Exodus (Ex 25:8-9). Now, it it not just the tent/tabernacle but Jesus is God’s presence among human beings.
He came into the world yet “his own” did not accept him (Jn 1:11). “His own” could be Jesus’ immediate kinship group (Jn 7:1-7; 19:27), or his clan or people.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
Sadly, this pitiable reality has been repeated throughout history. Even if God has already come down to redeem us, yet humanity still looked for another saviour who it perceives can grant its immediate needs. This is also true today. The world has recently become attracted to saviours who promise quick fix solution to the problems of society. Their solutions, however, often involves hating, excluding, ostracising certain groups or race for the sake of the security and comfort of the majority.
Indeed, Jesus is not the typical savior that the world knows. Jesus as savior came not to solve our problems or answer all our questions or fulfill all our personal ambitions or praise all our successes but to reveal all our problems, to challenge all our certainties, to expose us to our vulnerabilities, and to lead us to His Kingdom. In Christ, God entered the world to overturn our world. And we are confused and not contented.
How beautiful the world would have been if the Messiah who had come was a superhero, who would wipe out all our enemies and get rid of all evils in this world. Then our world today is like a paradise, peaceful, prosperous and everyone is happy.
But he is not a God who came to be served but to serve. He is not a God who lord it over everyone but became the slave of all. He is not a God who is undependable but a God who is just and compassionate to all. He did not come to the world to lecture us, to scold us, to judge us. He did not come for the healthy and strong but for the sinners. He did not tolerate our sins but gave us the strength to rise above our weaknesses and sins.
He entered into our history, identified with our struggles, lived in the midst of our evil world, experienced our fears and anxieties and marveled with our dreams and aspirations. As Pope Francis, when he visited Tacloban in 2015, said: “We have a Lord who is capable of crying with us, capable of walking with us in the most difficult moments of life”. He is one of us. He is indeed Emmanuel, God who is with us!
Jesus is our true savior. Let us not be seduced by fake saviors in our world today. Let us reject all their lies and manipulations. Let us renew our loyalty to Jesus, our true savior.
Only Jesus can liberate us from our particular enslavement. Jesus entered our world to bless it and to liberate us from all form of enslavement whether oppression, hunger, homelessness, addictive habits and substances, fear, anger, resentment, hatred, or loneliness. At the same time, we are called to work together with him, to help others break the chains of their enslavements, so that, in the words of the prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading,
“All the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God”.
A most blessed Christmas to all!
Here is the schedule of Christmas Day masses at the Baclaran Shrine (Philippine Time). All Christmas Day masses at the shrine are streamed live. Click this link to watch and listen to the Christmas Day masses at the shrine.
Tonight’s liturgy and readings of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Mass during midnight, is full of contrasting words and images.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah proclaims,
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone” (Isaiah 9: 1).
These prophetic words from Isaiah truly express the paradoxical challenge of living the spirit of Christmas: Christmas is to see and to walk towards the light amidst the darkness of our lives and our world
The second reading, St. Paul in his letter to Titus, speaks of the two comings of Christ: (1) “the grace of God has appeared,” that is, in the Christ event (and Bethlehem marks the inception of its appearance); (2) “while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory…”
In the Nativity, Christ comes first in great humility in anticipation of his coming again in majesty and great glory. It is especially fitting that this note should be struck at the Midnight Mass of Christmas, for much of the traditional imagery speaks of the Lord’s Second Coming as taking place at midnight. This imagery, for example, is found in the parable of the ten virgins: “At midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom!’” (Mt 25:6).
Lest we sentimentalize Christmas into a “Baby Jesus” cult, we need to remember that it is only in the light of the Second Coming that we can celebrate the first coming. We are kind of living in-between times. Jesus has already come more than 2,000 years ago but we still await the fullness of his coming when we partake of his glory at the end of time.
Of all the readings, the gospel has the most contrasting images. Christmas is the birth of the king. But the new king wasn’t born in a palace, his birth wasn’t hailed by heralds fanning out to every corner of the empire. Instead, his family were refugees: They couldn’t find room at the inn; Mary gave birth in a stable; and the child had to rest in a manger.
There is darkness in the night, and yet the radiance of God’s love is in the child. The winter is cold, but the baby brings the fire of God’s love to earth. The baby is so small and helpless; and yet he is the Word, who in the beginning was God and was with God. The humble animals surround the child, but the angels of God sing his birth. The child is poor and lowly in origin, and yet all the power of God is his. The stable is lowly, but it is the king of kings who is born into it.
It is in these contrasts that we can find the wonder of Christmas. Indeed, Christmas is not the eradication of contrast. Christmas is not the absence of conflict. It is not the deleting of differences. On the contrary, it is the acceptance of diversity. It is the welcoming of the other who is unique and different from me. Contrast, is at the core of God’s incarnation: God became fully human without God stripping of God’s divinity and human becoming divine without human stripping of humanity.
The wonder of Christmas is the story of God coming down from heaven and embracing the world and humanity despite all its darkness, messiness, sinfulness, and muddiness. The wonder of Christmas is God’s becoming human by not resorting to human power, prestige, wealth and fame.
The wonder of Christmas, however, is not just God coming down to become human. The wonder of Christmas is also human going up to God by welcoming God’s word and plan in human life. The greatest joy of Christmas for humanity is this very sublime dignity that God has imparted to all of us through Jesus Christ–the opportunity to partake of God’s divine life and all its qualities–peace, justice, wisdom, joy, unity, generosity and prosperity.
Saint Athanasius, the renowned fourth-century bishop of Alexandria and the greatest apologetic of the doctrine of God as the Trinity, in his classic work, Incarnation of the Word, said that the incarnation of Christ occurred not just in order for God to become human but also for human to become God, Similarly, the Benedictine monk Julian of Vezelay (c. 1080 – 1165) highlights the double movement of the Christmas wonder–God’s becoming human and human becoming divine:
And so from his royal throne the Word of God came to us, humbling himself in order to raise us up, becoming poor to make us rich, and human to make us divine.
It is in this light that Mary’s yes is very important to the Christmas story. Mary’s fiat (yes) is a turning point in the history of the world. The turning point involved the incarnation as God’s coming down from heaven to become human and Mary’s yes which represents humanity’s aspiration of going up to God. Mary’s yes is the prototype of humanity’s yes, or more precisely, Mary’s yes represents humanity’s yes par excellence.
Mary’s yes is replicated by the shepherds who came to worship the baby in the manger and the different characters in the Christmas story that we have heard during the 9 days of Simbang Gabi or Christian academy. They are all part of the wonder of Christmas.
The wonder of Christmas will not be complete with just the birth of Jesus. The response and participation of Mary, John the Baptist, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Joseph, and many other prophets and characters who allowed God to make them an instrument of God’s plan and dream for all humanity and creation, are part of the Christmas wonder. The wonder of Christmas cannot be complete with merely God’s action; it includes and necessarily involves human response and participation.
We can never, therefore, experience the wonder of Christmas if we become passive observer of the great event of incarnation. You are part of the wonder of Christmas. God wants you to be part of the wonder of Christmas. We can be part of the wonder of Christmas not through the baby-cult, admiring the cute baby Jesus on the manger from the outside but not receiving Christ from the inside of our being. The wonder of Christmas is the reception of the Christmas story into our lives and like Mary, John the Baptist, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Joseph, and many other prophets and characters, it is allowing ourselves to become instruments and heralds of the building of God’s kingdom, here and now.
This Christmas, let us once again welcome in wonder and awe the greatest event of God’s coming into our lives. Together with the whole world let us bow down and adore our savior Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us humbly receive the birth of Jesus in our hearts and resoundingly accept our becoming part of the Christmas wonder.
A most blessed Christmas to all!
Here is the schedule of Christmas Day masses at the Baclaran Shrine (Philippine Time). All Christmas Day masses at the shrine are streamed live. Click this link to watch and listen to the Christmas Day masses at the shrine.
These past few days, many people have been taking the hard and long journey going home for Christmas. One could just admire all the hardship and troubles that people endure just to be back in time for Christmas to visit their families, loved ones and friends: the long queue and waiting at terminals, enormous traffic, longer trips because of the traffic, exhaustion, hunger, lack of sleep during the trip. But all their tiredness disappear once they arrived home and see their loved ones.
In today’s gospel, we hear of the visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary took at least three days of long and arduous journey to reach the home of Elizabeth (more on this later). But when Mary arrived, her tiredness was transformed into joy. As soon as Elizabeth heard the sound of Mary’s greeting, very likely “shalom” (peace), the infant in Elizabeth’s womb “leaped for joy” at the recognition of the soon to be born savior in Mary’s womb. Because of this, Elizabeth became filled with the Holy Spirit, and she burst out in joyful salutation:
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment
of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
Pope Francis describes this visitation scene as a scene of overflowing joy from both soon-to-be mothers because of the coming of Jesus.
… When Mary arrives, joy overflows and gushes from their hearts, because the invisible but real presence of Jesus fills everything with meaning: life, family, the salvation of the people. Everything!
The joyful and blessed encounter between Elizabeth and Mary notwithstanding, we cannot underestimate the importance of the long and arduous journey that Mary embarked to reach Elizabeth. She took off from Nazareth, a Galilean city west of the Sea of Galilee and travelled to Ein Karem, the Judean village where Elizabeth and Zechariah lived. This covers a distance of between 128 and 160 kilometers. Luke does not mention whether Mary made any preparations for the trip or how she traveled. She may have gone on foot or as part of a caravan. We don’t know if she traveled alone or whether St. Joseph accompanied her, or SS. Anne or Joachim. In Mary’s day, a person traveling by foot could cover about 32 kilometers per day. If Mary walked to Elizabeth’s home, it would have taken her four to five days. If she accompanied a caravan, she would have arrived in about three days.
Such a journey would have been dangerous, especially for a young girl alone. Mary demonstrated her courage as well as her desire for confirmation of God’s plan. She overcome any fear she may have had about surrendering to God’s call on her life or facing the possible danger involved in confirming his will. Such complete surrender freed her to act in confidence.
In going to Ein Karim, Mary became the first missionary, the first bearer of the Good News. Despite being pregnant with Jesus, the word incarnate (logos), in her womb, she journeys through the hill country to the town of Juda. English theologian John Saward refers to this image of Mary on her journey to Elizabeth as the “Logos carrying Virgin.”[1] In this journey, Mary became the first disciple and missionary of the Logos (Word). Indeed she is the Theotokos—bearer of God in our world.
Mary stayed 3 months to be with Elizabeth to continue to accompany and assist Elizabeth into the more delicate three months remaining of her pregnancy. We do no know, whether Mary was still present when Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist. This further showed, however, that Mary, despite herself being pregnant, was able to be present and minister to someone who was more in need.
What is this story telling us about Christmas?
Christmas is a joyful celebration that essentially leads to vibrant mission. The celebration of the incarnation of Jesus overflows with life, joy and goodness that it cannot be kept just to ourselves and lived only at this time of the year. It has to be lived, shared and proclaimed to others, to the whole world, throughout the year. As we sing in the famous Tagalog Christmas carol, Sa Maybahay,
Ang pag-ibig ‘pag siyang naghari (When love reigns)
Araw-araw ay magiging Pasko lagi (Everyday will be Christmas!)
Like Mary, we are all called to be Theotokos—God-bearers. We are all called to share the good news of Emmanuel, God is with us, not just with our lips but also with our feet, with all our heart and soul all the days of our lives.
Christmas is the season of joy. It is about the joy of the coming of the Lord among us. As in one of my most well-loved Christmas Carols, Joy to the World!
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
The readings for this 3rd Sunday of Advent are all about joy. St. Paul in the Second Reading commends the Philippians:
“Brothers and sisters: rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again, rejoice.”
The word for rejoice in Latin is gaudete. Thus, this Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday.
The Church boldly exhort people on this Gaudete Sunday, ready or not, to rejoice. The joy that the church exhort the people is not, however, cheap and superficial joy. It is not an escapist joy that numbs us and forgets all about the pain and sorrow in this life. As the song of Redemptorist Fr. Oli Castor goes,
How can I possibly sing a joyous Christmas song
when there’s so many people who know not where they belong
The joy of Christmas is not the fleeting joy that serves as an escape from the sad reality of our lives, which sadly has been the scourge for many of our people come every Christmas. It is rather the profound joy borne out of God’s immersion into the messiest and muddiest experiences of our humanity.
The readings also speaks of joy but not the shallow and cheap joy. In the first reading, from the prophet Zephaniah, the part we read this Sunday comes from a hymn celebrating the survival of the faithful remnant, a passage that commentators judge was added after the Babylonian Captivity. It is sung, therefore, by a group that has passed through tough times. In the midst of those difficulties they have come to know the presence of God so vividly that they can picture that the Lord “will sing joyfully … as one sings at festivals.” How did they get to be rejoicing survivors? In an earlier chapter the prophet had said,
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth,
who have observed his law;
Seek justice, seek humility;
perhaps you may be sheltered
on the day of the Lord’s anger (Zeph 2:3).
In the Second Reading, when Paul exhorts the Philippians to rejoice, he is in a captivity of his own, in Roman custody. Like others who have been able to deal prayerfully with the enforced solitude of incarceration, he is able to urge rejoicing on much the same basis as Zephaniah’s surviving Judahites: he has come to know the presence of the Lord. It is not wishful thinking but personal testimony that stands behind his pep talk:
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 in Christ Jesus.
In the gospel, the crowds John encountered in the desert had, themselves, little reason for joy about the happenings in their lives during that time. Yet they share a joyous and hopeful expectation of the coming of the Messiah who will deliver them from their lethargy and gloom. The people in long rows, gathering to be baptized in the wilderness, was expecting the Savior who is to come. In this context of joyful expectation, John exhorts the people to take concrete small steps towards making changes in their lives and the actual situation. The work for a better world is preparation for the coming of Christ. It is also a sign that the coming of Christ is near. Each segment (the crowd, the tax collectors, the soldiers) asked John the Baptist the question: “Teacher, 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.”
Rita Ferrone notes that Pope Francis echoed this passage in his address to 2014 Collegeville Conference on Liturgy, Music, and the Arts:
The crowds asked Pope Francis, “What then should we do?” To the pastors he said “Get out of the sacristy! Go and be with your people; smell like your sheep!” To the wealthy nations he said, “Give up your trickle down economic theories! Address the injustices that hold the poor in bondage.” To the religious he said “Answer the questions of the CDF,* but don’t let their investigations dismay you. Continue in your ministry!” [1]
Christmas is a season of joy borne out of the coming of the Lord in our midst. The coming of the Lord is both exciting and demanding. Christmas joy is the Lord Jesus Christ walking with us as we take small and steady steps in reforming our lives and transforming the world we live in.
Before Christmas, what little change can we make within ourselves and in our family, workplace and community we belong?
Advent is a time of joyful anticipation despite all the gloom surrounding our lives. This is reflected in the readings of today’s second Sunday of Advent.
The prophet Baruch, in the first reading, says, “take off your robe of mourning and misery,” for God is leading his people “with his mercy and justice for company.” God’s people “are wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,” and they “will be named by God forever the peace of justice.”
St. Paul, too, in the second reading, speaks of joyful anticipation, of waiting for “the day of Christ Jesus.” He encourages the Philippians to grow in “love, understanding, wealth of experience, clear conscience, and blameless conduct,” and he concludes with a wish: “that you may be found rich in the harvest of justice which Jesus Christ has ripened in you.”
In the gospel today, Luke presents John the Baptist as a kind of anti-establishment figure but showed the people the true way of preparing for the coming of the messiah. How did John the Baptist prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah? John the Baptist shows us 4 things:
Prophetic
John the Baptist’s was a prophet because he foreshadowed the coming of the messiah similar to Old Testament prophecies. But more than foreshadowing, he prepared the people for the coming of Jesus through repentance—a change of mind, hearts and guts. John the Baptist as a prophet was also not afraid to point out the evil deeds of people. That is why Herod shut him up in prison.
In this season of Advent, John the Baptist’ prophetic announcements reminds us that the more meaningful preparation for Christmas is the critical appraisal of our values, attitudes and deeds. Advent is the season to examine how we have aligned our ways of thinking, doing and living in accordance with Jesus’ gospel.
Ascetic
Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
John the Baptist lifestyle speaks of severe asceticism and ritual purity. John the Baptist’ lifestyle highlights the penitential character of advent. That is why, just like Lent, the liturgical color of Advent is purple. In contrast to all the partying, eating and drinking common to this season, John the Baptist invites us to tame our desires and purify our hearts. He invites us not to get drowned with the over-commecialization and materialization of Christmas. Advent is a time to recognize that we are sinful. Our personal and social sins have hindered us from experiencing the wonder and joy of the coming of the Lord in our lives.
Desert
John the Baptist did not preach in the center of power—Jerusalem but in the “wilderness” or the desert. John the Baptist invited the people to leave their center of power and go to the desert. The desert always had a special significance in Scripture. It is a holy place, a place where God is specially to be found. It is also a place of struggle. It was in the desert that the Israelites spent 40 years on their way to the Promised Land. It was in the desert that Jesus had his tussle with the Evil One. It was in the desert that Jesus often went to pray and in the desert that he fed the people.
John the Baptist invites us during this Advent season to go to the desert. In the midst of all the noise and hectic schedule of the season, can we afford to withdraw in silence and spend some quality moments in prayer in order to fathom the greatest mystery of history—the incarnation of God into our lives and God’s own creation? This demands humility in order to learn how to bow down to the greatest wonder of God’s embrace and acceptance of our vulnerable and fragile situation.
Hope
John the Baptist gave the people hope by announcing the coming of the messiah in the midst of despair of the people. In this season of Advent, despite the violence, oppression and falsehood, we cannot succumb to despair but continue to be relentless in hope. We must continue our unity and advocacy for truth, justice and wellbeing especially for the poor and the most abandoned of our society. The season of Advent strengthens our hope that justice, peace and righteousness will prevail over violence, terror and falsehood.
In this season of Advent, let us learn from John the Baptist, and listen to his voice from the wilderness. Let us accept his invitation for a baptism of repentance. John the Baptist gives us the sure and certain route to “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist invites us during this advent season to a change in our perspectives and strengthens our hope in Jesus Christ who is the good news.
Perhaps you think I am getting confused about time. This is not January 1 nor is it the lunar new year or the beginning of the Muslim year. But this is the beginning of a new year for the Catholic Church.
Last week we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday of the outgoing Church year. Today is the First Sunday in Advent and the beginning of a new Church year. It is also the beginning of a new cycle of prayers and Scripture readings, Cycle C.
Advent comes from the Latin adventus which is a translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming. This is reflected in our readings for this first Sunday of Advent.
The First Reading and the Gospel both talk about a time when the Lord comes—for justice. The First Reading from the prophet Jeremiah proclaims;
In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure; this is what they shall call her: “The LORD our justice.”
In the Gospel, Jesus warns people not to be overcome with the pleasures and anxieties of the world but to be ready for his coming. In his second coming Jesus will set things right, and ransom those who “can stand up straight and stand secure before the Son of Man.
Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.h.
In order that we may be ready for Christ at his second coming, St. Paul in the Second Reading, exhorts us:
Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.
The texts for this first Sunday of Advent are warning about the end of the world inasmuch as they are commentaries on living in the present. Jesus’ words are a wake-up call telling us to be present in any given moment and being decisive about the present. Since we do not know the hour or the day, let this be the hour, let this be the day, let this be the time that we live and die. This day, this moment, this life, is the time to bear fruit. Thus, the essence of Advent spirit is readiness for action: watchfulness for every opening, and willingness to risk everything for freedom and a new beginning. We should all work and capture every opportunity for the elimination of disease, poverty, injustice and death itself although this will only be fully realized at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
An appropriate phrase that captures the Advent spirit is carpe diem. Carpe diem is a Latin aphorism, usually translated “seize the day”, taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace’s work Odes, written 23 years before Christ. The phrase is part of the longer carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero, which can be translated as “Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow (the future)”. The ode says that the future is unforeseen and that one should not leave to chance future happenings, but rather one should do all one can today to make one’s future better. [1]
In our world today we see a lot of suffering and disease, injustice, poverty and war. Our nation is in darkness, we are in a crisis. The temptation is to sulk into the present and linger in our frustrations, anger, despair, anxieties. Worst is to be passive and thus justify the greed, lust, pride around us. So we no longer condemn the evil around us and no longer appreciate the beauty and blessings around us. We no longer hope, no longer wait, no longer expect. We’ve stop living and dreaming.
Advent seeks to awaken us from our weakening spirit, passive attitude and fatalistic mindset. Advent seeks to instills in us defiant hope, transformative attitude and patient confidence in God’s action. Advent reminds us that we can look forward from our darkness to the fact that God’s Light will always overcome the darkness of the world (Isaiah 9, 1 – 7). We just have to learn how to wait for God’s grace, long for Jesus’ power and actively prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of the Messiah.
Copiosa 