In the gospel passage, Saint Matthew introduces us to the person of John the Baptist. The writer of the gospel tells us that John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist (Mt 3:4). He was not a king, he did not wear fine clothing. Rather, he dressed in the clothing of a poor man, someone who could easily have blended into crowds, one who could even have been ignored by passers by. If he were alive today, he would probably dress just like you and me, or maybe his clothes would be tattered and torn. Perhaps we would pass him by on the street, not paying much attention to him at all, but this is the very point that we must focus on today. This ordinary-looking man was the one who was chosen by God to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. Have you ever considered the possibility that God may be calling you and me to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus? We can do this by living our faith in concrete ways: by trying our best to model compassion by the way that we interact with others. We can also pray for our family members, for our friends and even those who sometimes make life difficult for us.
The second thing that we can focus our attention on this week is what we see. Saint Matthew says that when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism (Mt 3:7), he challenged them to live lives that are consistent with their desire to change their ways. In other words, he was calling them to be honest with themselves. As Christmas draws closer, we focus our attention more and more on the gift of love that God gave to us when he sent his Son into the world. When we recognize the presence of divine love in our lives, we are also made more and more aware of our own sinfulness, and so it is customary during the season of Advent that we take some time to celebrate the wonderful Sacrament of Reconciliation. On Wednesday evening, 11 December, there will be a Penitential Service held here in the church, beginning at 6:30pm. Let us all take advantage of this moment of grace to be at peace with ourselves and with God and to prepare for the coming of Christmas.
A third aspect upon which we can focus our thoughts and prayers this week concerns the words that we speak. When people asked John the Baptist who he was, his reply was very humble: I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me (Mt 3:11). In the coming weeks, we will hear more and more parts of the Christmas story. Let us pray for the grace to listen attentively and to receive the graces that the Lord wants to share with us at this time. Perhaps there will be tangible gifts, but more importantly, God's gifts should be accepted in a spirit of humility. This is not an easy task because we are human beings, constantly being tempted to focus only on our own desires and not on the needs of others, yet our God is constantly calling to us, offering us another chance to look outwards and to recognize his presence in those around us. Let us pray for the grace not to ignore this invitation.
If we focus on these three words of advice in the coming week, we will be well on the way to preparing our hearts for the coming celebrations of Christmas.
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