Father Michael Posted December 12, 2021 Share Posted December 12, 2021 December 12th, 2021 Third Sunday of Advent A Message from Father †Michael Today’s Theme: “God, Indeed, is my Savior; I am Confident and Unafraid Reflections on Today’s Scripture The oracles of Zephaniah date from the second half of the seventh century B.C., just prior to the ministry of Jeremiah. Our First Reading (Zephaniah 3:14-18,)warns of the “Day of Yahweh,” a universal catastrophe that will sweep away Judah and the nations. It should be a warning to Judah, yet the “shameless nation” will not take heed. He then cites a remnant of the faithful who will inherit the kingdom of God. Our passage contains part of the prophet’s promises to them, and bids them to rejoice because their salvation is at hand. Under the leadership of Yahweh, the nation will suffer no evil within, nor enemy without. The King is a victorious Warrior, the bridegroom of the people, Who tempers the awful majesty of God. The presence of God is emphasized by the recurrence of “in your midst,” and Zephaniah’s passage undoubtedly influenced Luke’s Gospel, especially in his account of Mary’s bidding—“Do not fear,” and “You will conceive in your womb.” We too should take heart in this message of hope. ~~~ †Paul concludes the letter we began last Sunday, in our Second Reading (Philippians 4:4-7.) Here, he addresses an appeal to the people of Philippi, calling them to rejoice in the Lord and be free from anxiety, as they live in a spirit of prayer and thanksgiving. The joy to which he refers is “in the Lord,” a basic condition of Christian life. Though we cannot share the tremendous expectancy of our earliest brothers and sisters, we can be assured as they were, that the Lord is our present support, and our secure future. He gives us peace “beyond all understanding,”—which cannot be attained by human efforts—as a sterling benefit for our prayerful meditation. ~~~ Our Gospel warns of God’s judgment, if there is no change of heart in those who repent (Luke 3:10-18.) The call to repentance—an across-the-board review our resources against injustice, prejudice and indifference to the needs of human beings—is what set apart the true prophets of the Old Testament from the bogus ones. The subordinate role of †John the Baptist is further emphasized by †Luke, (as it is in †John-the-evangelist’s Gospel.) We see †JTB stating how unworthy he is to even be a slave of the coming Messiah. His baptism with water is to be seen only a precursor of one brought by the Messiah—“a Baptism of the Spirit.” Practical Christianity Life could be compared with a doctor’s waiting room where people tell one another about their ailments. Or, it could be the emergency room of a hospital where a mother waits with a sick child. She shares her anxiety with others whom, perhaps, she does not even know. This is the instinctive need for concern. Everyone hopes that the doctor can help and take away fear and anxiety. Life is a waiting room, of sorts, and Christians make themselves more aware of this during the time of Advent. All of us have our ailments and anxieties. We wait for Christ’s coming into our lives. Hope for salvation is an integral part of the Christian lifestyle. And this hope is founded on our firm faith that somebody is concerned! Christianity is a very practical and social religion—not just a matter of “God and me,” but of “God, me, and others.” We are preparing for the Lord’s coming at Christmas, and we have no doubt that He will come and bring “gifts” to us. But He doesn’t only come at Christmas—He comes to us always, occasionally at the oddest times and places, wearing different disguises. Then, He comes in the guise of a person in need. Advent urges us to “Prepare a way for the Lord,” as we contemplated last week. There is no better way to prepare than to be welcoming towards those in need. The way to find peace and happiness and goodness is to forget oneself and love others. When we make way, or even just make room for another person, we utilize humility and generosity of spirit. Indeed, such acts calls for a sort of “dying to self.” Parents spend the best years of their lives preparing the way for their children, in the sense of opening them to life. But there comes a time when they have to withdraw so that their children can come into their own. Having given life to their children, parents must allow them to live their lives. All of us must resist the temptation to “hug the limelight,” by dominating and relegating others to the shadows. Further, we must be conscious of the debt we owe to others who prepared the way for us. No one ever came to prominence or fame on one’s own. There is always some facilitator in the background whose task it was to help, guide and encourage. In other words, someone was there to “prepare the way.” When one achieves fame, the facilitator drops out of sight and frequently is forgotten. The Secret of Happiness It’s easy to be happy when we only do what we want. But to find happiness in what we have to do, not simply in those things required of us, is a blessing from God. Happiness is not a shallow self-satisfaction. There can be no happiness for us as long as the things we do are different from the things we believe. Nor can there be happiness without love. A sadness falls upon us when we say “no,” to love. Also, we must not equate “joy” with “pleasure:” Pleasure is of the body; joy is of the spirit. You can quickly tire of pleasures, but you will never grow tired of joy. In the end, only God can fulfill our dreams, and happiness is the best sign of His presence. I have always considered myself a happy person, even though I may not always look it, thanks to inheriting my father’s furrowed brow. And sometimes, of course, I am not happy. Sometimes I wish I could be happier more frequently. While it seems, everyone is looking for the secret to happiness, the better question may be, “Is it even possible to be happier?” Experts tell us that about half of our level of happiness is based on genes. Some people are just more predisposed to be happier and upbeat than others. But that does not mean a person cannot increase their level of happiness if it does not come naturally. A large portion of people’s happiness comes from the choices they make—particularly as regards with the relationships with others that people cultivate in their lives. If we were to pour through the accumulated data, including vast medical records, and accounts of hundreds of personal interviews and questionnaires, we would discover a strong correlation between flourishing lives and the relationships with family, friends and community. In fact, studies have shown people’s level of satisfaction with their relationships at age 50 to be a better predictor of physical health than were their cholesterol levels. People who were most satisfied with their relationships in their 50s were healthier, and happier in their 80s. Happy marriages seem to be predictor of happiness in old age. Even when physical health deteriorated, moods didn’t suffer even on days when they had more physical pain in those people with loving marriages. (Harvard Study of Adult Development, 1938-present day.) To be happy, we must emphasize the spiritual over the physical; and the authentic over the egotistical. This might mean foregoing things that give us status and ego satisfaction, in order to concentrate on things that truly feed our souls. It means facing who we were in the past, even if it is painful or embarrassing; taking responsibility for letting people treat us badly; and not wallowing in the comfort of victimhood. Happiness is being a functioning adult who has something to offer others—not in living in a perfect house or having a perfect “social media documented” life. Sometimes it can come from just sitting at home and talking to people you love. Other times, if we are able, we might find ways to volunteer our time for the benefit of someone else. In the final analysis, true happiness comes from living lives that are examples of giving, rather than receiving. May God Richly Bless You! "I slept and dreamt that life was joy; I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted, and behold, service was joy." ~~Rabindranath Tagore--Bengali poet and philosopher~~ To view a live stream of today's Holy Mass, click here: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0qLYfbYQfjHky0sS9Eg3P8T9Q Break Forth Into Song.docx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.