Homily for the week of December 13, 2009

3rd Sunday of Advent, C 2009

Zephaniah 3:14-18

Phil 4:4-7

Luke 3:10-18

There are moments in our lives when we make discoveries that both delight us and propel us into a new phase of living. I remember as a young boy I discovered the five-times tables. I could multiply! And probably got me started in becoming a mathematics teacher and my joy in data analysis. A nurse told me how she thought she was going to wash out of her nursing program because she could not take blood pressure. She distinctly remembers the day she suddenly caught on, and she hasn't had a hard time since.

I once met a young boy with a crippled leg. The boy's father took his son to a church, and there promised him that if they prayed deeply, the son would be healed. They prayed for quite a while, then the father announced to his young son that he was now indeed healed. The boy looked at his leg and saw that there was no change. What was his father thinking? Leaving the church the boy stopped on the steps. He felt funny . . . he felt . . . happy. He felt a great warmth inside and had never been so happy. Suddenly he understood, and he told his father, ''You were right Dad, I have been healed!'' The boy realized that though a brace remained on his leg, God had taken the brace off of his mind.

Life is very much about how we see, and how we see it relates to us personally. Many of those who went into the desert to see and hear John the Baptist had their eyes opened. Both Jews and Gentiles were quite taken with the message of John. They were so taken up with the message of the coming of the Messiah they instinctively knew that somehow they should be living differently than they had been living. It was a moment for them when the light went on.

John helped people to see that those who attach themselves to God are people of true charity. They allow themselves to see and care for the poor. People attached to God strive to live honorable lives, to treat everyone fairly and with respect. These changes in behavior were signs that something new was happening. God was coming. According to Luke, they were filled with anticipation.

Today is Caudate Sunday. The season of Advent originated centuries ago as a time of 40 days in preparation for Christmas. On this Sunday, while reminding ourselves that we still wait, we also remind ourselves that Christ has already come and we allow ourselves a vision of the world as it will be. In a past time, no one did penance on this day.

Zephaniah lived in a time when the Kingdom of Judah enjoyed political independence during the reign of Josiah (640-609 B.C.). However, the time was also a time of spiritual decline when old idolatries reappeared and people worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. Rites other than those worshipping Yahweh flourished in Jerusalem. Because of this religious corruption, Zephaniah announced impending judgement. Fortunately, Josiah was a reformer king. Because of this, Zephaniah announces that the Lord, in His mercy, will spare a holy remnant what will finally enjoy peace.

John the Baptist also offers people a vision, a vision of the world as God intended it to be lived. People who are blessed with extra things will happily share their abundance with those who have nothing. Tax collectors will become just. Soldiers will do their duty to protect people and not harass and abuse them.

How we see the world affects our attitude toward it. If our world is filled with Christ, we can look at crippled legs and not see them. We can be negative and be nay-sayers. We can see faith communities as nothing more than hypocrites. We can be sullen all of our lives. Or we can embrace the vision of the world as it was and as it will be and find ourselves healed.

John the Baptist prepares the crowd for Christ's coming through baptism and a change of heart and behavior. It is only through God's presence that we will find true life and peace. As Christmas approaches we trust in God's loving presence rather than in self-help.

Take a look this week of the progress of your Advent preparations, especially your spiritual preparations. What would John the Baptist say to us today if we asked him what we ought to do? He probably would answer like this: