A Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent
Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18a Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18
The dream has more combinations than I can count, but the issue is always the same: Something terribly important is nigh, for better or worse, and I am not ready. Try as I might, there is just too much stuff to pack, to pick up or to put into order.
It is not an unusual anxiety dream. It nestles in slumber next to the math test whose classroom you cannot find, the play in which you do not have the script and you appearing in public without clothes. If you are an adult who escapes anxiety dreams you are either dead or a terrible trouble for the rest of us.
What is interesting about the excessive baggage dream is its message: Stuff that you will not surrender is keeping you from your life. That is also the message of John the Baptist on this third Sunday of Advent. John appears in the desert saying that the time is nigh and that we are not ready:
The crowds asked John the Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them,
“Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages” (Lk 3:10-14).
Hoarding is not the target of the dream or the Baptist, at least not the stockpiling of physical possessions. No, the lesson to learn is about our attitudes, our fundamental approaches to life, our ways of looking at it. The question is: What attitudes weigh us down?
Let’s reset the Baptist’s message.
Do you feel put upon? But aren’t most people? And is life in the Lord not about serving others, even when their expectations are a bit out of whack? Let it go, and find some joy.
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love
he will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals (Zeph 3:16b-18a).
Do you feel aggrieved? For the sake of moving on, let us grant that you are right. Someone did you wrong. Maybe terribly wrong. But you only injure yourself, impede your own happiness, when you refuse to move on. Let it go, and find some joy.
The Lord has removed the judgment against you
he has turned away your enemies;
the King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear (Zeph 3:15).
Are you fretful? Filled with anxiety? You may well need professional help, but psychological health is always a combination of nature, nurture, morality and spirituality. If you cannot let go of excessive worry, keep asking the Lord to help you. Ponder your past blessings. Pray for the grace to let it go so that you can find some joy.
The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God (Phil 4:6).
You are the only one who can identify—but perhaps not without some prayerful reflection—the attitudes that weigh you down, that keep you from being ready for what is coming. Advent is a good time to pack up what you no longer need. Let it go and find some joy.
