May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
It is difficult to rejoice when we encounter tragedy. It is difficult to speak of hope when we are
confronted with violence, hatred and evil.
The events of Friday at an elementary school in Connecticut draw our
focus from a time of rejoicing to a time of sorrow. It is difficult, dear brothers and sisters,
to rejoice and to preach about hope.
And yet, the days of the prophets of Israel and the days of
John the Baptist and the Apostle Paul were no less violent or troubling. In fact, the passage that we read this Sunday
from the prophet Zephaniah is the only hopeful passage in that entire book that
bears his name. The Apostle Paul, who
invites us to rejoice always, lived and died amid great persecution. The preacher of grace and truth was executed
outside the walls of the city of Rome because of the great hatred for his faith
in the Prince of Peace. And John the
Baptist, our guide for the season of Advent, was killed not because he was a
political revolutionary, but because he defended the dignity and the sanctity
of marriage. All three of them,
Zephaniah, Paul and John the Baptist could speak to us about violence, hatred
and revenge, but they call us to rejoice and they speak to us of hope.
In this season of Advent as we prepare to welcome Jesus
Christ, we are given this third Sunday as a day to rejoice in the midst of our
preparation. The purple vestments that
signify a time of conversion and preparation are set aside in favor of the color
rose that signifies a moment of subdued joy.
The joy that we celebrate on this third Sunday is the announcement that
the Lord is near, that he will rejoice over us, that he will renew us with his
love, and that the Lord will sing joyfully because of us. Even in the midst of sorrow, and even, dear
brothers and sisters, as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the
Lord is near. In every circumstance and
in every vocation, the Lord is near, and he calls us to conversion, and he
calls us to rejoice.
In our reading from the Gospel today, the crowds approach John
the Baptist and ask, “What should we do?”
The crowds are asking how they should conduct their lives now that they
had embraced repentance and accepted the baptism of John for the forgiveness of
their sins. The message of John is
simple. The people are called to live in
a spirit of justice and a spirit of generosity.
This was the message to every group and every vocation. But more than advice about ethical conduct,
today John the Baptist gives us a direction.
John the Baptist points, not to himself, even though the crowd would
have eagerly followed him. John the
Baptist points to the one who is to come.
He points to the one who will baptize with the Spirit and with
fire. John the Baptist, exercising his
role as the last of the prophets, directs our attention to the Lord Jesus, the
one in whom all creation will be renewed, all suffering will be sanctified, and
all sorrow will be overcome by the power of his cradle, his cross and his empty
tomb. John the Baptist, who guides us as
we prepare to welcome Jesus Christ, does not give to us the answer to the
deepest questions and longings of our hearts.
John the Baptist points us to the one who is the answer.
With our hearts pierced by sorrow and tragedy, and yet
comforted by the call to rejoice in the message of hope, we enter into this
celebration of the Lord’s victory and his love.
We rejoice in the promise that the Lord is near and that he will renew
us with his love. And we ask for the
grace to follow the direction of John the Baptist, and hear the good news that
we are soon to welcome Jesus Christ.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church, Monroe, NC
