THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
16 DECEMBER 2018
Zephaniah
was not a prophet who looked at the world with rose colored glasses. In his short book, Zephaniah clearly saw the
pain and suffering caused when his people turned away from their Covenant with
God. He wrote vividly of the destruction
of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians as the consequence of the sins
of his people. Yet, today Zephaniah
tells Mount Zion (on which is built the Temple) and Jerusalem to be glad and
exult. Despite the pain and suffering
endured by his people, destruction and desolation are not the last words. God has forgiven their sins. God is in their midst, and God will bring
them victory.
There is no
doubt that Saint Paul was familiar with the writings of the Prophet
Zephaniah. He too had known the
consequences of his sins. He had been
guilty of murdering the earliest followers of Jesus of Nazareth. As he writes to the Philippians from the
darkness of his prison cell, he too knows desolation. He has come to believe that the prophecy of
Zephaniah had been fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. The body of Jesus had been destroyed on the
cross and sown into the grave. But Paul
has come to believe that this crucified Messiah had been raised from the dead
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
For that reason, he tells the Philippians to rejoice, because he is
convinced that the risen Lord is near.
That is why
we wear rose vestments and light the rose candle today. Our waiting to celebrate the first coming of
the Lord is almost over. Christmas is
just over a week away. Our waiting for
the second coming of the Lord is not over.
We continue to wait for that coming at the end of time and at the end of
our lives. No matter what difficulties
we may be facing, the Lord is near and is in our midst, even in the darkest
moments of our lives.
Calling to
mind the second coming of the Lord during this Advent Season might cause us to be
fearful, because we know neither the day nor the hour of the Lord’s coming to
us. For that reason, the words of Saint
John the Baptist are so important. He is
the voice crying out in the wilderness to tell his contemporaries that the
Messiah is coming. His urgent message to
them is to repent, to change their lives, so that they can receive him.
In
responding to his call to repentance, the crowds ask questions. They ask what they should do. He responds to most of them by telling them
to share more generously with those who have nothing. He responds to the tax collectors by telling
them to stop cheating people and collect only what is prescribed. He responds to the soldiers by telling them
to stop bullying people and be satisfied with their salaries.
To us,
waiting for the second coming of the Lord, he gives the same message. He also gives us a way to repentance. The risen Lord is truly present in the Sacrament
of Reconciliation and is waiting for us to turn more completely to him now. Our Advent Penance Service is scheduled for
Tuesday evening at 7:00, with seventeen priests available for individual
confession of sins and absolution. I
recommend this communal option, because there is strength in numbers. Besides, you will never see some of these
priests again on the side of the second coming.
Later in the week, we will offer many other times for individuals to
receive the Sacrament. In either case,
we offer a valuable tool: a written
examination of conscience. It is
sometimes tempting to approach the Sacrament with the attitude that there is no
sin in my life. The examination proposes
objective questions to consider in our lives of faith. Reviewing this examination provides specific
ways in which we need to cooperate with the Lord’s grace and make necessary
changes to meet the Lord when he comes.
Through the Sacrament, the Lord gives us his mercy, which is a cause for
rejoicing always!
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