One can make a
pretty convincing case that the world is going to hell. The government
scientists recently issued a report on the climate, and it is bad. Scientists are getting more and more dramatic
in their speech and frantic in their calls for reform as evidence continues to
mount of faster and faster climate change.
What kind of world are we leaving to the next generation?
In world
politics it is a mess: Brexit fights in
Britain, riots in France, right wing strongmen in the Philippines, Brazil,
Hungary and Poland, endless wars in Afghanistan and in Syria, a truly tragic
human disaster in Yemen. Increasing
authoritarianism in Russia and China.
In our own
country the government is badly divided, and the president threatens a shut
down of the government. Every day is a
new revelation and scandal.
The economy is
shaky. A trade war with China. A stock market all over the place. Fears of recession and inflation. A frontpage article in today’s New York Times
states: “For the first time in decades,
every major type of investment has fared poorly, as the outlook for economic
growth and corporate profits is dampened by rising trade tensions and interest
rates.”
And in the
Church? Cover ups by bishops, more names
of credibly accused priests and bishops being released, divisions of Catholics
into camps, criticism of the Pope, and people leaving the church, especially
the young.
As I said, one
can make a pretty convincing case that the world is going to hell.
And so how are
we to react? What are we to think? What should we do? The normal reactions don’t apply. Everything is up for grabs.
“What should we do?” That is the question the people put to John
the Baptist in our Gospel today. Their
world was coming apart at the seams as well:
an oppressed people, conquered by Rome, their own priests collaborators
with the enemy, everything was not what it was supposed to be, and they too
felt overwhelmed, lost, disoriented.
So, in the
Gospel crowds come to John the Baptist and ask, “What should we do?” Perhaps
you are wondering the same thing.
I LOVE John’s answer: “Whoever has two cloaks should
share with the person who has none. And
whoever has food should do likewise.”
In other words, take care of one another. John does not tell them something outrageous
or extraordinary or wild. John was a
wild and crazy guy, living in the desert, dressed in camel’s hair, and eating
locusts and wild honey. You expect him
to say something wild and revolutionary.
But his response is very simple and pretty basic. “Whoever
has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”
If you feel
overwhelmed by what is going on in the world today, take a deep breath, and
then listen to John the Baptist. “Whoever has two cloaks should share with
the person who has none. And whoever has
food should do likewise.”
With caring
for one another comes joy. Ask anyone
who worked on the St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Basket project this past week,
or anyone who helps in our Thursday Outreach program.
In our second
reading St. Paul urges us: “Rejoice in
the Lord always. I shall say it again:
rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all.” Rejoicing goes with kindness, with caring for
each other.
We can care
for each other because God cares for us.
As we sang in the Psalm today: “God
indeed is my savior, I am confident and unafraid.” Confident and unafraid. That is a wonderful witness in today’s
world.
We should be confident and unafraid. God is indeed our savior.
There is a
wonderful image of God in our first reading from the Prophet Zephaniah: “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….”
That is quite an image, of God
singing joyfully because of you. Have
you ever been so head over heals in love that you sang joyfully because of your
beloved??
Can you
imagine God singing joyfully because of you?
And yet the prophet tells us this is so.
Fr Rich sings
beautifully. I sing loudly. But God sings joyfully because of you. Oh my!
My sisters and
brothers, the readings today remind us not to let ourselves be overwhelmed,
depressed and paralyzed by the many real and terrible evils in our world. We must do our part, but it is as simple and
straightforward as John the Baptists’ teaching:
care for each other.
That is how we will get through this. AMEN.
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