3rd Sunday Advent C - Homily 3

Homily 3  - 2021

In last Sunday’s Gospel, Luke introduced us to John the Baptist, telling us that “he went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. Today’s short extract gave us a few brief samples of what repentance might mean to him. He instructed people to share their clothing, their food, with people in need. He urged powerful tax-collectors to extort no more taxes than the legal amount. And he warned soldiers [often today’s equivalent of police] not to intimidate people, to extort nothing from them, and, interestingly, to be content with their pay.

More pertinent than his call for repentance was his conviction that another was to follow, more important, more powerful than he. He would, as he expressed it metaphorically, “baptise people with the Holy Spirit and with fire”. He would sort out the worthy from the unworthy, with the unworthy metaphorically destined to “burn in a fire that would never go out”.

The one who would do all this was Jesus. Did John get Jesus right? In some ways yes, in some ways no. How do you feel about John’s message, as described by Luke? To me, John’s message was good common sense, with which most people would have agreed — not world-shattering, but certainly important. Though apparently John drew large crowds of devoted followers, his message, I must confess, leaves me cold. It is the sort of message that I would expect a responsible older teen-ager or young adult to regard as important. It was clear, certainly. But there was no challenge, no invitation, to grow up.

Adults need more than clear rules or commandments. Life can be far too complex for clear, unanimous answers. Adults need clear values, more than they do rules. They need virtues in order to appreciate values and to apply them under pressure. They need wisdom to read any situation and to discern well what values are involved in decision-making.

John’s message left no room for further adult development. In the few examples we have, he gave clear rules — and they are helpful. But they are not enough for the chaotic situations where people sometimes find themselves. People need help to form their own conscience responsibly — and God speaks to them through their conscience.

Jesus was great. Read again his Sermon on the Mount. He challenged people to think. Did he mean to be taken literally — always? or sometimes? or rarely? Or did he rather tease people, and try to lead them further? What was he really driving at?

And what about punishment? Was Jesus’ sense of God of a God who punishes — if not immediately, then eventually? And why punish some more than others? Is not everyone destructively self-centred in one way or another? Has our attitude to punishment changed as life has taught us to love unconditionally?

Personally, I find Jesus’ approach stimulating, and even exciting. He called us to a world where everyone is always and everywhere safe — beyond safe, even. I believe he wanted a world on fire with love — and he showed us such love is possible.