Zephaniah 3:14-18
Response - Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:10-18
-John the Baptist
But these days some of us may look around and say, "what is there to rejoice in?" Who can look at the woman who is pondering abortion because she is too young to offer a child a future and she herself is a child and tell her to rejoice? Who can look at the homeless man and say rejoice when, having no place to go, he suffers from frostbite, hunger pangs and exhaustion. Who can look to the abused or neglected child or elder and tell her to rejoice when there is no one to give her attention, no one who cares to visit?
"What are we to do?" (Luke 3:10)
The call we hear in scriptures today is to rejoice. We who are blessed with the presence of Jesus Christ, the Word who makes his dwelling among us, are called to put that Word into action. God is with us! We have to rejoice. How are we to rejoice? We have to carry that message of our God who dwells among us to the homeless, to the abandoned, to the poor and the abused. John spoke about the One who would after him come to baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire. As members of the Church, we have received that baptism. We have been called. We have been set on fire! Rejoice in the burning love of Christ, who is present at the core of our being through the Holy Spirit.
Now we must go and set the world on fire. We must take what we have received and give it to others. We must kindle flames of justice and mercy and break down systems that oppress and abuse people. We must call for an end to all that holds people in poverty. We must teach self-respect and self-love to those who would allow themselves to be abused and not stand up against forces which dehumanize and oppress. We must not repress the fire which Jesus has set ablaze in our world - a fire which shines on and which the darkness will never overcome. This is what we are called to do. This is how we are called to rejoice in the coming of Christ Jesus for he is still coming into our world today through the scriptures, the Eucharist we celebrate, and through us.
Peace,
Shaun Lowery
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