Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 12 December 2021

Third Sunday in Advent

"What should we do?' A question we have often asked concerning all kinds of situations in our own lives. In response to this same question, put to him by various groups, John the Baptiser answers in a pragmatic and perhaps rather shocking manner. Why? Because we learn that in the section before our Gospel extract this Sunday, John has just warned these people in very direct terms, to clear their act up in face of the coming judgement of the Messiah. This is what he has just said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance… Even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (Lk 3:7,9)

Can we dismiss this as simply part of Luke's engaging narrative, or, do we hear in John's words a call to our own time, a real warning to communities, Church, individuals, groups such as politicians, or the celebrities that dominate so much of our media lives, to radically change?

I think we need to heed John, we are after all in a time of turbulence and haven't any real clue as to what might emerge. Our very existence is threatened in ways we should have understood (yes we have been warned often about our human capacity for greedy exploitation) and yet we have still done little. It is time that we listened to John and also note that instead of an individual question, 'What should I do?' this time Luke stresses the collective 'We'.

Pope Francis has called for care for the environment and care the poor. His words need to be taken in a very wide and profound context, they need to be discussed by the 'we', politicians, business leaders, academics, church people, all of us in fact, who are concerned about this world of ours, but who also realise that there is no quick solution. The real issues must be realistically engaged with by all of us, for instance global migration is not the answer to the basic issues of survival, justice, climate change or poverty in countries where corruption and systemic failure of so much of life's infra-structure occur, for it is there at the root, source and place of the problems where change must take place. That is why the 'we' is there, 'I' must decrease as John the Baptist said, so that the Body of Christ, the 'we' must increase. 'What should we do?'

John points this out clearly, we cannot run away, we cannot just have an emotional response to the questions facing us today, it needs steady hearts, clear minds and practical attitudes. This is John. To the crowds, and that means all of us, he says, 'share resources, become the people of generosity, of gift'. In the case of the tax collectors, and here insert our banking and other financial systems, he says: 'no extortion, collect no more than is legally required', this is regulatory honesty, but also basic justice, so needed in our corrupt world. To the military, and in our case we can add any people of power be they political, religious or other office holder, John is clear: 'Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.' If we unpack all of these answers they stands as a foundation of good community, openness and transparency.

Extortion is a terrible thing because it encompasses so much, it can be bullying, but it is any threatening or underhand behaviour. False accusation spans so much, from hints, guesses or simply outright falsehoods, 'speaking our truth' is certainly not the same as 'telling the truth'!For, as we well know, gossip and conspiracy theories cannot ever take the place of accurate facts-yet we are so guilty, in so many cases, of prejudging issues or tarring others with the wrong thing and in the process destroying them and our own integrity. 'What should we do?'

To be satisfied is something human beings find difficult, we want more, we envy others, we are greedy! The current cult of celebrity, seeking our fifteen minutes in the limelight, is part of the dissatisfaction we have with ourselves. Perhaps we need something more basic, a return to simpler values with a clearer faith. Here we can turn to John again, because in Luke's Gospel he shows us just what we can do. Are we filled with expectation for the Christ, or are we lost because we have not got trust in the coming of the One who has the answer to our deepest needs and is already amongst us?

We need the expectation that John proclaims:

"I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals'. (Lk 3:16)

These are powerful words of preparation for us, for now more than ever is that time of 'the Holy Spirit and fire'. Even now, though we do not yet perceive this, the chaff is being winnowed in the harvest of the Kingdom. The big questions are: have we the willingness to become the wheat on the threshing floor of the Most High? Are we able to do what has been given to us as answer to our questions?

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus! Come!

Lectio

Extract from the Anglo Saxon Poem

The Descent Into Hell

"Now I entreat you, our Saviour,
deep in tribulations-you are the Lord Christ-
to be merciful to us, Shaper of Men.
You sought your mother's bosom yourself
out of love for men, Victorious Lord God,
not at all out your own need, Sovereign of Nations,
but because of your mercy that you often
revealed to mankind, when they needed grace. (107-14)

"You could enclose all the seats of the people,
likewise you could count up, Lord of the Realm,
the sands of the sea-floor, best of all kings. (115-7)

"Likewise I entreat you, our Saviour,
for your childhood, best of kings,
and for those wounds, Lord of Hosts
… your rising, Joy of Noblemen,
and for your … name (118-22)

"Then all the hell-dwellers praised and lauded you
… where they stood around you,
when you should let your hand rest,
then you wished to seek us out on this exile-path,
Lord of Hosts, by your own authority,
and for Jerusalem in Judea-
even yet that city must await your second coming now,
O Praised Prince- and for the Jordan in Judea-
we both bathed in that stream together. (123-32)

"You may sprinkle with these waters,
Lord of Hosts, with a blithe heart,
all the dwellers of this city,
likewise both you and John the Baptist
upon the Jordan were inspired fairly by that baptism
all this middle-earth. May thanks always be the Lord's!" (133-7)

Prayer of St Ambrose for Pardon

O Lord, who has mercy upon us all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of Your Holy Spirit.

Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore You, a heart to delight in You, to follow and to enjoy You, for Christ's sake. Amen.

Prayer of St Ambrose for Trust

Merciful Lord, the Comforter and Teacher of Your faithful people, increase in Your Church the desires which You have given, and confirm the hearts of those who hope in You by enabling them to understand the depth of Your promises, that all Your adopted children may even now behold, with the eyes of faith, and patiently wait for, the light which as yet You do not openly manifest; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.