3rd Sunday of Advent, Year C - REFLECTION Sunday´s Gospel,

Rejoice! - a commandment

(Fr. James McTavish)

Zeph 3:14-18a Isa 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 Phil 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18

At the moment I am teaching Catholic morality. Often when we think of morality what comes to mind are a set of rules and regulations, do and don’ts (and mostly don’ts!). How interesting to note what we are commanded to do on this Sunday of Advent, which is commonly known as gaudete Sunday, is to ...rejoice! This is a commandment.

In the first reading of the prophet Zephaniah we have. “Shout for joy, sing joyfully, be glad and exult with all your heart!” Wow! Let’s party! It is a time to be joyful. What can be the reason of our joy? Thinking of the gifts we will receive? Usually we enjoy them for a while but then later we lose interest. Thinking of all the nice food we will eat? Yes, but we also know that in January we have to begin the year with a diet! There are many things that happen to us every day that can make us really joyful like last night, for me to see two missionaries in my community in the chapel late at night preparing the Word of God in Chinese for a retreat they will give today. I was so happy to see them there dedicated to the Word of God. How great is this! We are called to share the Word of God in another language, helping prepare a way for the coming of the Lord. That is why we pray, “Maranatha, Come, Lord Jesus!” As soon he will, so scripture tells us: “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty saviour; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.” (Zephaniah 3:14-18a).

St Paul in the second reading continues this theme of joy: “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” Sometimes we find it hard to rejoice because we have many worries. In one moment this week I found myself burdened with anxiety about all the things I had to do. I was taking myself a bit too seriously. Sometimes we have genuine concerns but at other times it can be because we give ourselves too much importance, we can feel that we are the only ones doing anything. We are reminded: “The Lord is near. 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.” (Philippians 4:4-7). Present all your worries to the Lord. Don’t say to God that you have a big problem but say to your problem you have a big God! Then we will experience that peace that only Christ, the Prince of Peace, can bring.

Our preparation for the coming of the Lord is not only manifested interiorly but also exteriorly. All the people were asking John the Baptist that important question, “What should we do?” What shall we do for Christmas to really prepare our lives for his coming? John gives them some advice; “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none” (Luke 3:10-18). St Basil the Great said, “The coat, which you guard in your locked storage-chests, belongs to the naked; the footwear mouldering in your closet belongs to those without shoes.” Of course it is not enough to know these things but to put them into practice so this morning I checked through my closet. I only have one pair of shoes but I did find 4 shirts that I don’t use, so I washed them and tomorrow will give them to a nearby congregation of sisters who will distribute them to the poor who live near us. It is scandalous that many Christians are living in excess yet so many have nothing. “Luxury corrupts more than poverty,” my African friend told me.

To the tax collectors John said “Exact no more than your rate,” which is not only good advice for taxi drivers but for all Christians in business. One insurance representative in Manila told me she could not pay money as compensation for the flood victims because the flooding is classified as: “an act of God.” In fact many here agree that it was “an act of man” as due to corrupt use of government funds there are no proper drainage systems in place. I told her not to hide behind the letter of the law, as doing so can even be a cover for greed, but to do what is just and right in her conscience, where God speaks and in following it lies our very dignity.

To the soldiers, John said, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” How many workers in rich countries complain about their pay! How many times we practice extortion to get our own way! Come, Lord Jesus and save us. Let us be like John the Baptist, helping to prepare the way of the Lord in the lives of many people. Sometimes we feel ill-prepared, and it is true we need to prepare our own lives first so often we desire to wait until we are more perfect. When will that be?! Even John was not perfect. Theologically he was announcing a salvation of wrath and repentance when in fact the Lord came wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger announcing a message of mercy and compassion. We should just do what we can, knowing, as John did, that one greater than us is coming. He is so great that our imperfections will not stop his arrival but then again he needs us to help prepare the way in the lives of many. May this be our great joy. Rejoice, we all have a mission and there is work to be done. Don’t be anxious, the Lord is near. He is coming soon. Let us help prepare for his coming. Amen.

2nd Sunday of Advent, Year C

Prepare for his coming!

(Fr. James McTavish)

Bar 5:1-9 Ps 126:1-2a, 2b-3, 4-5, 6 Phil 1:4-6, 8-11 Luke 3:1-6

One day this week I was feeling a bit discouraged and sad as I could not work out what the Lord was asking from me. In a moment of prayer I was telling Jesus that I felt disheartened.  The first line of the first reading of today helped me - “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendour of glory from God forever” (Baruch 5:1). It was Jesus himself responding to my prayer, telling me to cheer up, to be patient “as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ” as we say in every mass. Sure enough after a few days things became much clearer and I felt enlightened.

The psalmist today proclaims: “The Lord worked marvels for us, indeed we were glad” (Psalm 126). Something essential for every one of us is to recognize these little marvels that God works in our lives. What little marvels has the Lord worked in your life this week? Can you answer that question? Stop for a moment. Don’t be in such a rush. What wonders is God working in your life? Many people in our world of today are seeking only the big wonders. But if we fail to spot the obvious little wonders of every day do you really think we will spot the big ones? As G. K. Chesterton commented, “The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder.”

This week a priest friend shared to me the wonderful thing God did in the life of his family recently. He is a missionary and thus is far from his own country and family. His father fell fatally sick and was about to die. The priest asked the family to put the cell phone next to his semi-comatose father’s ear and said to him “Don’t die. Please hang on. I will be there in one day.” His father hung on to life, even surviving a cardiac arrest. The priest arrived and was able to be with his father, who actually went on to make a full recovery. Many staff in the hospital were amazed at his recuperation. The priest said to his dad, “If you want, I will stay at home from now on.” Do you know what his dad replied from his hospital bed? “No son, the Lord has entrusted you a mission. Go and fulfil your mission.”

Well we can reply, what about the many who don’t recover? That is why I said go and discover the wonders God is doing in your own life first or you will never be convinced, even if a man came back to from the dead!!!

Come, Lord Jesus, come into the world as light. Two thousand years ago the light came but was rejected by many. John the evangelist reminds us, “He came among his own but his own did not welcome him” (John 1:11). Before, they did not recognize him as a little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, and still today, many times we do not recognize the Lord’s coming in the preaching of the word of God, in the smile of another, in a kind word. How much the world of today needs us to be like John the Baptist! Yes - to prepare the way of the Lord. In today’s gospel, from St Luke, we hear the prophet announcing: “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:1-6).

This is the task of every Christian, to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. How can we do that? One young woman was sharing her experience in the office. A workmate was flirting with many men. She told the woman that she did not think it was right to play around with the feelings of others. At first the other woman just laughed but then the girl said “You are playing around because your heart is empty.” Later on the colleague thanked her for being so honest with her and came to realize that her truly her heart was empty as she was lacking the love of Christ.

Many Christians are growing in their sensitivity to the Word of God. The Word did not only come to John the Baptist but to many Christians who are trying to cultivate that loving friendship with Christ. Sometimes we doubt that our lives can really be of help to Jesus and his mission. Perhaps our lives are a little chaotic, maybe spiritually barren or deserted. Even we can feel that our life is a bit too wild. But the word comes to John when he is in the desert! When he is in the WILD-erness! The Word does not only come to those souls that are pure, holy and in order. Where did the Word choose to be born 2000 years ago? In a sterile and clean incubator of Jerusalem Maternity hospital where everything was under control and in good order? Or was it not in a cold, damp, dark manger, which was a bit smelly and full of wild animals? That encourages me so much! Lord, there is room in my heart for you. Please be born in the manger of my heart this Christmas!

Let us make the most of this time of preparation. May we become more and more in love with our mission to prepare the way of the Lord in the life of many of our brothers and sisters. Let us ask for the intercession of St John the Baptist, that we too can be these voices in the wilderness helping prepare the way of the Lord in the life of many people. Amen.

1st Sunday of Advent, Year C

Your liberation is near at hand

Jer 33:14-16 Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10+14 1 Thess 3:12–4:2 Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

All things can be born patiently when liberation is close at hand. Many of the older generation here in Manila remember the moment of their liberation during the occupation of World War II. They kept their hope alive in a difficult moment because they knew that the American army was close by and liberation would come soon. When they were eventually liberated it was an experience of great joy and freedom.

Have you ever been liberated? The other day I went to celebrate mass and afterwards had to organize a moment of Eucharistic adoration. I was not so familiar with the rite, especially the part in Latin and I had to ask for help. I felt liberated! Liberated from the idea that I should already know everything, freed from my concern about what others might think. What is liberation all about? Ask William Wallace and he would cry out “Freedom!” Is there anything that you need to be freed from?

Once we went to a prison on a pastoral visit. The prison was enormously overcrowded. In a room the size of a tennis court there were perhaps 250 men living. So tightly packed that not all could lie down and sleep at the same time such that they had two shifts and took it in turns to sleep while the other group stood standing. In the prison the prisoners gave us such a warm welcome, dancing, singing and cheering that I reflected that they seemed very “free!” Many times we are imprisoned in ourselves, in small concerns and worries. Many times we are held captive by fears but the Spirit desires our freedom.

In the moments of difficulties and trials, when it seems that the world will collapse we should know that “our liberation is close at hand.” The Lord is near - have no anxiety at all. In the gospel one interpretation of the apocalyptic end times with the sun falling, the moon becoming darkened is the situation of a humanity that suffers. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” But in these moments what is the advice of the Lord? “But when these signs begin to happen, stand firm and raise your heads because your liberation is at hand.” What do we need to stand firm in the moment of trial? Courage and faith! Once St Paul wrote to the community in Greece and said, “Always be courageous” - not just sometimes but ALWAYS. Later he said, “do not be intimidated in ANY WAY by your opponents.”

Hope my soul, hope. The gospel today reminds us “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.”

Let us be vigilant as we wait for the coming of our liberator. We close with the words of Cardinal Newman:

“They watch for Christ who are sensitive, eager, apprehensive in mind,

Who are awake, alive, quick-sighted, zealous in honouring him,

Who look for him in all that happens,

And who would not be surprised,

Who would not be over-agitated or overwhelmed,

If they found that he was coming at once.

This then is to watch: to be detached from what is present,

And to live in what is unseen;

To live in the thought of Christ as he came once,

And as he will come again; to desire his second coming,

From our affectionate and grateful remembrance of his first.”