Luke’s Gospel really made me think and reflect and I ask you to slowly read this passage and think about what John the Baptist is telling the people. I hope it fills you with the emotion of what the true meaning of Christmas is. The Advent season is a time of anticipation and joy that our Lord and Savior is coming.
If you were to ask a child or for that matter many adults, what is Christmas, the majority of them might say that Christmas is about Santa Claus and getting and giving gifts. This is understandable since we are being bombarded with and focus on the material aspect of Christmas. However, we must not lose sight that the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.
John challenges us to help others and not to just think of ourselves. When John was asked by the crowd, “What should we do?” John told them to share their cloaks and their food. Then he told the taxmen to stop collecting more than what is prescribed. Afterwards, he told the soldiers to stop being extortionists and be satisfied with their wages. John makes it clear as to what we should be doing. Now, the challenge is to act and be selfless and not selfish. We as members of the St Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish have many opportunities to help others, especially during this Advent season. I hope you will heed John’s call to action.
What struck me most when reading this Gospel is when it said “Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, ‘I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.’” John is telling us that there is One coming who is much greater than he and that he is not worthy even to loosen his sandals. Let’s take a minute to think about what John is telling us and remember what we
should be focusing on during these four weeks of Advent - the birth of Jesus and why God sent Jesus to us.
Please use these four weeks of Advent as preparation and anticipation to the ultimate event of Jesus’ birth and God sending His only Son to us. This is the start of Jesus’ journey on earth which leads to his ultimate death for the promise eternal life. My concern is that we spend too little time on the real meaning of Christmas and too much time on the secularization of Christmas. Yes, time with family and presents are good and I don’t mean to suggest that we stop that, but I implore you to find time to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas which is that Jesus our Savior is born. It’s not that important if the Christmas lights outside your house look perfect or that the Christmas dinner is the best ever or presents are great. What is really important is that we don’t let this Advent season be filled with these distractions, but instead bask in the glow of the birth of our Savior.
My prayer for each of you is that you take the time to remember how blessed we are to be followers of Christ
and remember the gift of eternal life that he has given us. Go out and help someone in need: donate some food or clothes, help a neighbor or be kind to someone. Imitate the story of the Good Samaritan who did not walk by the beaten man, like others did, but instead he stopped and helped him.
The bumper sticker on my car says it best “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Another of my favorites is “Jesus is the reason for the season.”