Advent III-C: Zep 3:14-18a; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:10-18

Patricia Greenlee tells a story about her son who is a West Virginia state trooper. Once he stopped a woman for going 15 miles an hour over the speed limit. After he handed her a ticket, she asked him, “Don’t you give out warnings?” “Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “They’re all up and down the road. They say, ‘Speed Limit 55.’” People have a tendency to disregard the warning signs. Sometimes that has dire consequences. Today’s Gospel presents John the Baptist warning the Jews with prophetic courage of their need for repentance and conversion.

John preaches fervently, urging his listeners to make preparations for the coming of the Messiah. John advises people, not to be dreamers or planners only, but doers moved by sincerity and commitment.  Even though John’s preaching is characterized by scathing criticism, his call for reform is still described by Luke as "the Good News," because the arrival of the Messiah will initiate a new reign of forgiveness, healing and salvation.  The repentance which John preaches calls for a change in behavior and not just regret for the past. According to Scott Hahn “Repentance” translates a Greek word, metanoia (literally, “change of mind”). It means a radical life-change involving a two-fold “turning” - away from sin (see Ezekiel 3:19; 18:30) and toward God for His mercy (see Sirach 17:20-21; Hosea 6:1). It requires “good fruits as evidence of our repentance” (see Luke 3:8). That’s why John tells the crowds, soldiers and tax collector, and us as well, that we must prove our Faith through works of charity, honesty and social justice.  John demands that we share our goods with one another, emphasizing the principle of social justice that God will never absolve the man who is content to have too much while others have too little.  John also insists that a man should not leave his job to work out his own salvation.  Instead, he should do his job as it should be done.  He calls people to fidelity in the very circumstances of their lives.  Let the tax-collector be a good tax-collector and let the soldier be a good soldier.  In other words, it is a man's duty to serve God where God has set him.  “Bloom where you are planted,” St. Francis De Sales used to say.  We are expected to become transformational agents where we are.  And if the work environment is such that we are unable to deal honestly and fairly with other people, we should probably find a new job.

As we continue with this Mass, let's take an x-ray of our hearts, to see the state of our moral life. And when our Lord comes to heal and strengthen us in Holy Communion, let's renew our commitment to make his friendship, with all its moral consequences, the highest priority of our lives.