Lk. 3:10-18
I read about an incident narrated by a person about his best friend, Kyle. They both joined the same school and happened to be in the same class for their high school studies. One of the first weekends, he saw Kyle going home carrying all his books from the school shelf. He thought that Kyle might be a nerd and a bookworm person. All of a sudden, a group of students came and dashed Kyle intentionally. He fell into the mud and his spectacles were thrown far away. He felt pity for Kyle and helped Kyle find his spectacles and carry his books.
They started to talk. They realised that they were from the same town and, since Kyle was doing private schooling, they did not meet each other. He shared his weekend plan to spend time playing football. He invited Kyle to join him and his friends. Kyle agreed and joined with him. He liked Kyle so much that he came to know him more. Likewise, his companions.They became best friends.
His friendship caused lots of changes in Kyle. He turned out to be a confident and bright young man of their class. The time has come to conclude their high schooling. He decided to be a business person, and Kyle decided to be a medical doctor. Kyle was chosen to give the valedictorian speech. On graduation day, he looked really great but seemed a little nervous. He encouraged Kyle, telling him, “Boy, you will be great today.” Kyle profusely thanked him.
He stated in his speech: “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach–but mostly your friends. I am here to tell you all that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story. ” He started to share the story of the day they met each other for the first time. That day, he was going home with the intention of killing himself, and he did not want his mother to do the job of clearing his school shelf after his death, so he was carrying all his books home… Kyle looked at his friend and gave him little smile and said: Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable. ”
The third Sunday of Advent invites us to embrace a life of renewal and transformation by implementing concrete actions. Last Sunday we saw John the Baptist preparing the people of Israel for the Messiah with his exhortation to undertake an inward journey of conversion. John’s preaching was neither a flat exhortation nor a mere emotional fireball. The people of Israel were deeply touched by the person of John the Baptist. They approached John to find out the concrete ways in which they could prepare themselves to receive their Messiah. Why did people lend their ears and why did they decide to change their old lifestyle and decide to take on a new person? It is because John lived what he preached. He spends time in prayer and fasting in the desert. Above all, he himself became the good news of hope. Before preaching about the need for preparation to receive the Messiah, he sacrificed the comforts of his life to remain focused and to fulfil his mission with great effectiveness and fruitfulness.
He wore camel skin and ate only locust and honey; he led such an austere life that he became a symbol of the good news of hope. Let us pose this question to ourselves and see whether our lives do become the good news of hope for someone. Did our eyes radiate Jesus like John the Baptist? People thought for a while that John the Baptist himself was the Messiah. Well, John could have enjoyed the pleasures of this doubt by projecting himself as the Messiah or remaining silent purposefully. We see the greatness of John here, mentioned by Jesus, that he is the greatest of all men born of a woman. He presented himself as a humble servant of Jesus and was not even worthy to untie his sandals. His baptism was marked by the presence of fire and the Holy Spirit. A person who prepared the way for Jesus with the zeal of Elijah disappears unnoticed when Jesus begins his ministry. He never wanted to be a popular preacher, but instead remained a faithful prophet of Christ and gave witness to truth with his life.
Let us reflect for a while on the transformation that people underwent. Palestine was under Roman imperial rule at that time. Ordinary people were exploited by Roman colonial rulers as well as their own political and religious leaders. The evil of corruption was common everywhere. We know the reason why tax collectors were hated by everyone and considered public sinners: because they exploited and illegally collected money from their own people to satisfy their greed. Soldiers, though they were paid by the Romans, squeezed the pockets of ordinary people, threatening them with their authority to amass wealth. As a result, society was in utter confusion and turmoil. They lost their mindset of being charitable, just, and fabrics of social solidarity.
When the crowd approached John, he exhorted them to renew their lives by living a life of charity by sharing their food, robes, and goods with the needy because these social evils cause people to become more and more self-centered and unwilling to share their resources with others. As a result, there is a wide economic disparity between the rich and the poor. The rich became richer and the poor became poorer. When Jesus was about to be born, the Holy Family did not get a roof to place their heads, so he was born in a manger. This truth reveals the hard social realities of that time. John exhorted the tax collectors to be just and get rid of their evil inclination to be greedy. Similarly, soldiers should use their power for service rather than personal financial gain.
As we reflect on this passage, let us analyse the situation in our own society in this post-pandemic time. We see realities such as the struggling third world countries who are deprived of vaccination, children who have lost both their parents and their family, people who have lost their job and are struggling to meet both the ends of their lives… I believe the best preparation for Christmas is to become the answer to these social dilemmas in our own little ways by being a good news of hope. If we can help even one person or family face the challenges of the pandemic, I am confident that Jesus will find a place in our hearts to be born…