Third Sunday of Advent (C) [Lk
3:10-18]
12.12.2021
John
the Baptist’s Exhortation to Various Groups
1. Theme in brief
What should
we do to welcome Christ?
2. Focus Statement
Through the prophetic preaching of
John the Baptist, the Lord invites each one of us in
one’s own state of life or profession to ask oneself, “what should I do” in
this Advent Season to prepare for Christ’s coming and humbly admit one’s own unworthiness
to welcome him.
3. Explanation of
the text
Today’s gospel text contains the admonition
of John the Baptist to the people who came to him for baptism of repentance, and also his humility and views about the Messiah. He wanted those people
to prove the genuineness of their repentance (1)
by a spirit of sharing with those who did not have basic
necessities of life (3:11); and (2) by doing their jobs in their respective
posts honestly and devotedly (3:12-14). Thus he
advised them to get ready to face the judgement of the Mightier One
who would come after him with “winnowing fan” in his hands to judge and separate the chaff from the wheat (3:17).
Various groups or categories of
people who came to John for baptism, such as the public, tax-collectors and
soldiers asked him the same question, “What must we
do” in
order to repent (3:10,12,14)? In his reply he had a different advice for each
group; he tried to concretize what repentance meant
to each person according to his/her state of life or profession/ job/
occupation. Hidden in his direct and honest reply to their question, we can
observe John addressing the common weaknesses or temptations for persons connected with those
jobs/ professions or states of life. John did not ask them to multiply
religious rituals and prayers, instead he preached about matters of social justice to be done to the deprived.
To the above-mentioned question
asked by the general public, John advised them to share their extra clothing and food generously with the have-nots (3:11). When tax-collectors asked the same
question he advised them to refrain from corrupt and exploitative practices (3:13). Tax-collectors
in Jesus’ days were known for exploitation, extortion and defrauding or swindling. Their higher
position enabled them to extort higher amount of taxes than fixed by the
government and swindle a good amount for themselves.
Their very name was synonymous with sinners. John admonished them not to fleece money from their own fellowmen and resist the
temptation to be so greedy as to collect exorbitant
(additional) tax from their own people (3:13). When soldiers asked the same
question, he advised them not to do violence to anybody just
because they had the power to handle weapons and work for security of the
State. Since they faced the temptation to bully or threaten people and extract money from them by force, he advised them to refrain from aggressive behaviour (3:14). In other words,
he asked them not to use their brute force on others.
Next, John pointed to the superiority or greatness of the One coming
after him in the following manner: (1) by not drawing people to himself but
to the Mightier One (the Messiah) and confessing
his unworthiness even to untie the
thong of his sandals – a work done by slaves (3:16); (2) by stating that the
baptism of the Coming One was superior to his because he baptized only by
water; the Other One would baptize by the Holy Spirit and fire (3:17); and (3) by upholding the Mightier One’s authority to bring a judgment on those who refuse to
change. John compared this authority, which was solely possessed by the
Mightier One coming after him, to the separation of wheat from the
chaff as farmers do with a winnowing fan (3:17). The symbolism of wheat refers to those who repent and reform their lives,
and chaff to those who stubbornly refuse to
change or reform their lives. The wheat would be gathered into his ‘barn’ (that
represents the saved ones) and the chaff would be burnt in fire (that
represents the unsaved ones, 3:17).
Baptism by fire refers to purging or purifying nature of the Holy
Spirit. Holy Spirit is like fire – surely a reference to the descent of the
Spirit in tongues of fire on Pentecost day (Acts
2:2-3) – that burns with love in a believer’s heart
and cleanses him/her like fire removing the dross (a waste substance)
from any metal.
4. Application to life
As per today’s gospel text, John the
Baptist is not a soft-spoken person or a goody-goody. He is stern and demanding. He wants not repentance in theory or sentiments but in concrete actions. His message is as valid for
today as in his days. As we prepare ourselves for Christmas, he gives a call to
examine our attitudes, conduct and
life-style that go against Christ’s values of love, fellowship, honesty and
justice. The essence of his preaching is that we should do our work not only
sincerely but also ethically. According to him,
repentance does not mean just feeling regrets or remorse for
the past but changing our attitudes in our own state of life and occupation that could result in concrete deeds of mercy. Instead of advocating more sacrifices of lambs and more
religious rituals, he advocated genuine concern for the needy and a spirit of sharing and honesty. Today also he urges us to be involved in the life-issues of the disadvantaged people by
sharing our sources with them. He exhorts us not to abuse our power by engaging in corrupt practices; instead perform acts of kindness or deeds of mercy for the needy.
John’s message challenges us to
examine our conduct in whatever profession/
occupation we do or in whatever state of life we are in. Each one of us has to ask,
“What should I do” to prepare for
Christ’s coming in the context of my own state of life or profession? In
concrete terms, “What should I do to really live an authentic Christian life as
a father or mother, as a son or daughter, as an employer or employee, as a
wage-earner, as a student, as a doctor or nurse, as a teacher, as a lawyer, as
a leader, as a priest or religious?” John the Baptist gives a few examples,
which need to be extended to all states of life and modern professions. He
invites us to examine the common
weaknesses
or temptations connected with our jobs/ professions or states of life.
First of all, if our repentance is
genuine it should result in concrete
actions
like sharing our food and clothing with those who are deprived of these things.
As Jesus was born in extremely poor conditions, we are reminded that
preparation for Christmas involves a concern for the poor
and the less fortunate ones. As food
and clothing are basic necessities of life, those who have more than enough of these
things are to welcome Jesus by sharing these and their other resources with the
have-nots. If many people are poor in the world, it is because of the greed of
others who have more than enough resources but refuse to share. Our world is a
world of contrasts: When so many people
including children go to bed everyday with hungry stomachs in some parts of the
world, so much food is wasted in lavish parties and
banquets in some other parts; when so many starve in one region, so much food is thrown away (sometimes even into the
sea) in another. Our world can be a better place if we decide to share
something of what we have.
Each one of us is invited to share
what one can spare, what is extra,
and what is more than one actually needs as preparation for Christmas. If we open our lockers,
cupboards, storerooms, cabinets and fridges we may find things lying there
unused for days/ months/ years. We neither use them nor give to others in need.
If we have food more than enough
for oneself and for family we are called to share cheerfully
with the poor and the needy. When this type of sharing is done in faith and out
of love, it proves that our repentance is genuine; that we have learned to
overcome our selfishness. As Christmas is drawing near it would be a wonderful
thing to discuss and decide in our families/ religious communities what we can
share with the poor. When there are plenty of vegetables and fruits in the
garden of religious houses/communities, they too are called to share something
of that with the poor neighbours, instead of sharing only with their own
communities or allowing them to go wasted. Since many modern nuclear families like
to have only one or two children, such children may fail to learn the values
of self-sacrifice and sharing of what they have because
they do not have more brothers and sisters to share their things and space. When
parents shower all the love, protection and gifts on one or two children only, such
children may turn out to be more selfish, greedy and proud.
Advent
could be an appropriate time for such parents to start strongly inculcating the
value of giving and sharing in their children, if they are not doing it.
John did not ask service-holders of
his days such as tax-collectors and soldiers to quit their job or not to
collect taxes for the Government or not to fight for their king, but to be honest and upright while performing their duties and fulfilling their
responsibilities. Tax-collectors mentioned in today’s gospel could include all
the professionals and politicians of our times. For persons who hold administrative
and managerial posts both in civil society and the Church, in which they have
to handle huge sums of money, there are strong temptations to swindle or misappropriate public funds or church
funds. Today, though there are anti-corruption laws in several democratic
countries, those in power know the tricks to find loopholes in the laws or the
system and manage to escape from being caught. If somebody wants to swindle
church funds, there are enough loopholes in the church’s system to do it with
impunity. When we are tempted to do so, listening to John the Baptist may mean
refraining from misappropriation of public funds,
defrauding, faking of accounts, taking bribes, misusing power, doing injustice,
exploiting the ignorance of the ordinary people and to respect human rights.
Soldiers mentioned in today’s
gospel could include all the police, defence forces, civil servants, tribal
chiefs and traditional council of village elders or leaders. For them to
practice John the Baptist’s guidelines would mean refraining from extortion, mock or fake encounters,
bullying, intimidating, blackmailing, false accusation and partiality in judgements.
It also would mean resisting temptation to use their power and position for
personal gain by exploiting, threatening and
frightening people, especially those who are ignorant of laws and regulations. John
asked the soldiers to be satisfied with their wages (3:14). Of course, this
should not be taken to mean that all workers should silently suffer unjust
wages or should not go on a strike at all in such cases. But John the Baptist
might challenge them to re-think whether they should resort to violent strikes and rioting in which public property is destroyed immensely and the public are put into
tremendous inconveniences. Frequent strikes, picketing, blockades and violent protests in some regions of the world are causing
colossal wastage of precious duty hours, loss of public property and damage to
the economy.
Humility of John inspires us not to
project ourselves as the messiahs or saviours in our preaching, leadership
roles and administration. Sometimes we hear people in leadership roles saying:
“Let us see how they will run the show without me!” Sometimes we are tempted to
think we are ‘baptizing’ people in our own name, not in the name of the Holy
Trinity. Like John the Baptist, we should always consider ourselves as those
who ‘baptize’ merely with ‘water’. After
his example, we are called not to project ourselves as the messiah before our followers
or disciples and make them totally depend on us. There is a temptation
for famous preachers and healers to subtly advocate a personality cult as some film or sport stars and
politicians do.
Humility to admit our powerlessness and
unworthiness, as exemplified by John the Baptist, is conducive to welcoming
Christ into our hearts. As parents, teachers, civil servants, employers,
social/ political/ religious leaders we should not give the impression that we
are the messiahs or saviours – having magical answers to all problems of life
and giving impression that we know everything, or thinking that nothing will
move without us. We forget that we are only instruments in God’s hands to help others grow.
5. Response to God's Word
What are the common weaknesses
and sins in our state of life as married couples, parents, teachers, leaders,
pastors and consecrated men and women? What are the most common weaknesses,
temptations and failure in our profession/ occupation/ daily work? Let us pray
for baptism with fire of the Holy Spirit so
that we may be purified and renewed. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit so that he
may come and help us to distinguish between real love (‘wheat’) and selfishness
(‘chaff’) and burn off all our impurities and aberrations with his fire of love.
6. A prayer
Lord Jesus, as we are preparing to
celebrate your birth, give us the generosity to share what we have with the
needy. Grant that we may welcome you by doing our works honestly and devotedly
in our own respective occupations and professions. Open our eyes to see our
failures and shortcomings in our own state of life. Amen.
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