Dec 10, 2012
Zephaniah 3:14-18 Isaiah 12:2-6
Philippians 4:4-7 Luke
3:10-18
The people in today's Gospel are "filled with expectation." They
believe John the Baptist might be the Messiah they've been waiting
for. Three times we hear their question: "What then should we
do?"
The
Messiah's coming requires every man and woman to choose - to
"repent" or not. That's John's message and it will be Jesus' too
(see Luke
3:3; 5:32;
24:47).
"Repentance" translates a Greek word, metanoia (literally, "change
of mind"). In the Scriptures, repentance is presented as a two-fold
"turning" - away from sin (see
Ezekiel 3:19;
18:30) and toward God (see
Sirach
17:20-21; Hosea
6:1).
This "turning" is more than attitude adjustment. It means a radical life-change. It requires "good fruits as evidence of your repentance" (see Luke 3:8). That's why John tells the crowds, soldiers and tax collectors they must prove their faith through works of charity, honesty and social justice.
In today's
Liturgy, each of us is being called to stand in that crowd and hear
the "good news" of John's call to repentance. We should examine our
lives, ask from our hearts as they did: "What should we do?" Our
repentance should spring, not from our fear of coming wrath (see
Luke 3:7-9), but from a joyful sense of the nearness of
our saving God.
This theme resounds through today's readings: "Rejoice!...The Lord
is near. Have no anxiety at all," we hear in today's Epistle. In
today's Responsorial, we hear again the call to be joyful, unafraid
at the Lord's coming among us.
In today's First Reading, we hear echoes of the angel's
Annunciation to Mary. The prophet's words are very close to the
angel's greeting (compare Luke
1:28-31). Mary is the Daughter Zion - the favored one of
God, told not to fear but to rejoice that the Lord is with her, "a
mighty Savior."
She is the cause of our joy. For in her draws near the Messiah, as John had promised: "One mightier than I is coming."