Homily for 17 December 2023 by Fr. Oscarito Antonio Boongaling
Third Sunday of Advent
One of the themes that we can reflect on today’s readings is God’s call for us on having a sense of purpose in our life. We cannot just live our lives aimlessly. And it is not just enough to have dreams and cultivate ambition – because these point to what we want to become or achieve which can unconsciously be towards our self-gratification and self-grandiosity. Having a sense of purpose can mean we have a sense of direction where God is leading us. It is the joy of surrendering our self will to God’s will. Purpose gives light to who we are and who we are not. When a person’s purpose is clear he or she lives in the truth – he or she cannot deceive others nor can he or she condition himself or herself to live and act by the expectation of others.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah mentions about someone who claims to possess the qualities of the Servant of the Lord – His sense of purpose is clear: he becomes an agent of God’s mercy by serving the broken and oppressed. He is a leader who seeks not just his own transformation and growth. He also seeks the transformation and growth to others. This is the true joy of self-actualization. The leader who is secure in his sense of purpose does not hoard power but passes it on to others.
The responsorial psalm is the Song of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here she expressed her joy in discovering that her sense of purpose of becoming the mother of God does not end with herself but she offers the gift of God for the salvation of Israel and the world.
In the Gospel, we hear again about John the Baptist. Some religious leaders approached him to question who he is and why he was baptizing. By his replies, the Baptist has shown how secure and stable he is in his identity and purpose. He denies being the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet. He is the one crying out in the wilderness. And he is baptizing because he is preparing the people of God to welcome His coming. I read in one source this quality of John: “John the Baptist had an intuitive grasp of his own inner reality as anchored in God through Christ.” He has no delusions of grandeur. He feels no compulsion to make a public spectacle of himself. He has the joy of transcending the natural tendency of self-fulfillment if only to fulfill God’s will.
How did John arrive at such maturity in faith and character/wisdom? The preacher last week had offered a hint – because John lived in the wilderness. The wilderness is not just the environment where we ask the help of the Spirit. St. Paul in the second reading has instructed the Christians in Thessalonika to discern everything carefully, to take hold of the good, to leave evil alone and to develop a habit of prayer, a habit of continuous listening to God. The wilderness is also in each of us. To become an inner desert is to abandon our thoughts, feelings, habits and worries that continually distract the soul from attentiveness to God. In the monastic tradition this is shaped by the community’s ascetic and liturgical life.
Sisters and brothers, it is not bad to have dreams, plans and ambitions. Yet these limit us to what we want to become and achieve. A sense of purpose deepens our desire to also help others become the persons God wants them to be. Thomas Merton encourages us to embark on a spiritual journey, an inner journey which is more important than any other journey – even man’s journey to the moon. Because it is crucial for man and woman to discover their true selves and their sense of purpose. Let us pray for this grace as we move on in our celebration.
