SUNDAY READINGS - 3rd Sunday of Advent
FIRST READING: Zephaniah 3:14-18. Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: " Do not fear, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival."
EXPLANATION: Zephaniah was a prophet who preached to the people of Judah and Jerusalem during the second half of the seventh century B.C. This was a period of religious degradation. The pure monotheism of Moses was almost forgotten, pagan idols were worshipped even in the holy city of Jerusalem. The prophet chastises the Chosen People and the neighboring pagan peoples who have led them astray. But he ends up with words of hope and consolation. A remnant of the Chosen People will be saved and to that remnant God will fulfill his promise---he will forgive Jerusalem and send it a lasting peace, for he will come to dwell in it as a "mighty savior." Our reading today is taken from this hymn of hope.
Sing aloud . . . Israel: Having pronounced his "woes" and threats against Israel and Jerusalem (which "woes" were later fulfilled to the letter), the prophet now sees the light of hope shining amidst the darkness. In spite of her sins, Zion, that is, Jerusalem will yet have cause to rejoice, and to sing for joy.
the Lord . . . the judgements: God in his mercy will forgive Jerusalem. Many a time that city, humanly speaking, deserved to be wiped out forever, like Sodom and Gomorrah, but God is divine, not human; be has a patience, a mercy which our small human minds cannot even imagine. He promises now, through Zephaniah, that Jerusalem will survive all its disasters and that notwithstanding its citizens' insults to him, through their idolatry, he would yet make it a safe and a happy city because
the King of Israel . . . in your midst: he would dwell once more amongst them; therefore they need fear no enemy.
on that day . . . who gives victory: Some time in the future "on that day," God will come to Jerusalem as its true Savior, not merely to save it from its earthly enemies, but to bring it back to the true worship and to save it from its sins, as the following verses show.
He will rejoice . . . renew you in his love: In the old covenant made on Mount Sinai, God promised to be a father to the Chosen People if they remained true children of his. He would make his throne in the Temple in Jerusalem and dwell in their midst. The Chosen People failed badly in keeping their part and God abandoned them to their pagan enemies. But a remnant would remain true and with that remnant he would make a new covenant, build a new Jerusalem and found a new Chosen People. This is the theme of almost all of the prophets (see Jer. 31: 31-34) and it is to this messianic covenant that Zephaniah refers here.
He will . . . festival: God will rejoice in the people of this new covenant because they will be more loyal, but especially because there will be one amongst them, their Head and Leader, human like themselves but at the same time God's "beloved Son in whom he is well pleased."
APPLICATION: It is very probable that neither Zephaniah nor his hearers saw the full meaning of the consoling words he uttered and that matters not. But we see their full meaning now in their fulfillment and we have every reason to do what the prophet said. "to shout for joy." God has come to dwell amongst us. He, Christ, is head of the new Israel, the Church. We are its members. "I am the vine, you are the branches" he said; while we remain united with him in grace and love we are producing fruit for eternal life, we are progressing daily towards our perfection.
The Israelites of old were indeed thankless and mean towards God, they forgot him and went after false Gods, and God resented this, and we would all say "how right he was"! But what about ourselves? We have seen proof of God's love, exceedingly greater than anything the Israelites saw---his Son came amongst us---and actually died the most shameful and painful death for our sakes! Could we ever forget that? We can and we do, unfortunately. We too desert God and go after idols, false gods of our own making, the pleasures, the riches and the power of this passing world.
Let us stop and think today of our privileged status. We have been made adopted sons of God, brothers of Christ, who lowered himself to become one of us so that he would raise us up to become one with him forever. Would we swap our birthright of adopted sonship of God for a mess of valueless pottage? Would we exchange an eternal happiness for some passing pleasure, some trivial material gain, some foolish sop to our false pride? This has been known to have happened, it can happen again. God forbid it should happen to me!
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SECOND READING: Philippians 4: 4-7. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
EXPLANATION: In the first reading you heard read today, the prophet Zephaniah exhorts the new Israel, that is us, to shout for joy, because of the new covenant of love God was to make with mankind. St. Paul too, writing from a prison where he was "in chains," because of this new message of God---the gospel---urges his first European converts to shout for joy, to rejoice always and for the same reason.
rejoice in the Lord always: The true Christian is a man who is on the direct road to heaven. Heaven is a place where there will be happiness, without any admixture of sorrow, in the company of God and his saints, and that happiness will be eternal, everlasting. Surely joy should be the theme-song of his life.
let . . . forebearance: the Greek word means courtesy, tolerance, gentleness. Who should be more courteous, tolerant and gentle to his neighbor than a follower of the gentle Christ who said: "learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart"? The true Christian, conscious of the kindness, the toleration God has shown him, will surely be tolerant and kind to his neighbor. If that neighbor is a definite sinner, which a kind Christian should never presume---he should be all the more sympathetic toward him---his eternal happiness may be in jeopardy.
prayer . . . full of gratitude: We can never thank God sufficiently, but every prayer of ours should begin with thanksgiving.
let your requests . . . God: the true Christian is on the right road to heaven, but he must keep moving always in order to get there. For this he will need God's help and that help is there for him who asks for it. He must tell God of his needs then, not only his spiritual needs but also his temporal ones, always with the proviso "if this temporal favor is conducive to my spiritual good." There are snags and troubles and disappointments in the course of every man's journey to heaven, but these very difficulties are often the means used by God to raise us up spiritually. The true Christian will see them in this light.
the peace of God: What greater gift could St. Paul wish for his converts! To share in that peace, namely, which dwells in the Trinity. No creature could expect such divine peace which "surpasses all understanding." The man who is loyal to God, just and charitable to all his fellow-men, can and does share in that peace even in this life.
will keep your hearts . . . in Christ Jesus: This peace on earth, a foreshadowing of the eternal peace of heaven, has been won for men by our Savior Christ Jesus.
APPLICATION: St. Francis of Assisi tried in his daily life to follow Christ as closely as possible. He was one of the happiest and most joyful of men for this very reason. He was often ill, often hungry, often cold and often fatigued but he was never known to have been sad. He had taken this exhortation of St. Paul to his heart. Whenever he saw one of his early followers gloomy and sad---there were some evidently who were as yet only following from afar---he told him go to confession as he must be in mortal sin. There seemed no other true explanation for sadness in a true Christian's life. Is there? We are really pilgrims, exiles on this earth, but every day we live is a day nearer to our true and lasting home which is heaven. Would an exile on his home-journey complain of the few hardships and discomforts he may meet with on his journey? Not if his heart is really set on coming home.
Troubles and trials there must be in every individual's life, but of this we have been forewarned by our Savior himself---"if anyone will come after me let him take up his cross daily and follow me." The crosses we meet are not impediments to our progress towards heaven but rather necessary aids on our journey. If accepted willingly they will keep us closer to our Leader who carried his cross to Calvary for our sakes.
St. Paul tells us today to pray for all our needs, always with thanksgiving. Such prayers, especially if we stress the thanksgiving we owe God already for the wonderful gifts he has given us, will lighten the cross and even perhaps make us grasp it closely rather than want to cast it from us. We are very mean if we refuse to undergo a little suffering for God who did so much for us and suffered so much for us.
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GOSPEL: Luke 3: 10-18. The multitudes asked John, "What shall we do?" And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."
As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people.
EXPLANATION: The Baptist's preaching at the Jordan caused a stir all over Palestine. Many thought he was a prophet. They had had no prophet from God for over 200 years. Others thought he was the long-expected Messiah. The theme of his preaching was "change of heart," turn to God and to things spiritual, forget your political ambitions---the Messiah is not here to free you from the Romans and make you a great temporal nation but to free you from your sins and make you sons of God.
What shall we do?: Many of those who flocked to hear him were willing to change their hearts but how? was their question. Be charitable, share with your needy neighbor, was his basic rule. The rest would follow.
tax collectors . . . soldiers: Doubtless he had a word for all classes but Luke picks out two of the most despised classes of that time. The tax collectors were Jews (for the most part), who collected the taxes Rome had imposed on their fellow-Jews. The system of collection opened the door to many abuses. The tax collector had to give the Roman authorities a certain amount each year for his district. He could exact whatever sum he liked provided Rome got the sum decided on. Thus, injustice was widespread, the Roman taxes were a hated burden for Jews, the collector made them more hated still. The "soldiers" were most probably not those of the Roman or Herod's army but the henchmen of the tax collectors who often used strong arm methods to get the taxes, and often collected something extra for themselves. John's answer to both is: "be just."
I baptize . . . water: The washing in the Jordan waters had no value in itself but was a symbol of the interior cleansing---"change" of heart. John answers the question "are you the Messiah?" Although chosen by God to be the precursor---to prepare the way for Christ, he feels he is not worthy to be his most lowly servant---the one who was not fit to tie his superior's sandals.
baptize . . . Holy Spirit and . . . fire: The baptism which Christ will confer will be the reality, it will give the Spirit of God, a new breath of divine life, to those who receive it. As in the Genesis description of creation God breathed on the clay he had formed and made Adam man, so now the new breath "Spirit" of God would make man something greater: sons of God.
fire: Cleansing, purifying by fire, was common in the old testament (see Nm. 21: 33 and Mal. 3: 3-19 where the reference is messianic).
winnowing fork: John now uses a simile well-known to his audience---the farmer threshing his wheat---the good grain will be separated from the useless chaff. Our Lord himself uses the same image in his parable of "the wheat and the cockles" (Mt. 13: 24ff).
he preached good news: John kept on telling the crowds who came to hear him the "good news" of the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah and thus prepared the way for Christ's public ministry.
APPLICATION: The Baptist's words are still very much to the point for all of us. We are all to a greater or lesser degree tax collectors and sinners. They had the honesty to admit it and asked John what they should do in order to be ready to welcome the Messiah, Christ. Let me ask today too what I should do if I mean to welcome Christ sincerely at Christmas. And the answer is in the words I have just heard. Am I just and charitable to my fellow-men? If I am an employer am I paying a just wage to those who are producing my wealth for me? If I am an employee am I doing an honest day's work for the pay I am getting? And both employer and employee must in justice and charity think of the consumer---the third party, when fixing or causing the price of what they produce.
If the employer, through desire for excessive profit, or the employee through not earning his pay, cause prices to rise then the third party, the consumer, is treated unjustly. Our world today is full of such injustices and sad to say, the Christian countries whose citizens profess to be followers of Christ not only do nothing to prevent this state of affairs but instead are even worse offenders than those who have not yet heard of Christ. I may shrug my shoulders and say what can I do about the injustice that abounds on all sides? But stop and think, there are things I can do. I can put my own conscience in order. I can put myself right with God and neighbor by acting justly, "giving every man his due" from this day forward. I can thus become an example to lead others to do likewise.
The true Christian in the world is the leaven which will convert the dough into wholesome healthy bread. I can be, and I should be, that energizing leaven. If I will not and if I do not strive to become so, Christ's winnowing-fan on my day of judgement will put me among the chaff which is destined for the unquenchable fire.-c012
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