What strikes me about today's gospel is the contrast between John the Baptist's radical message and lifestyle compared to the advice he gives to those who ask him: "Teacher, what should we do?" (Lk 3: 12) Critics of religion often focus on the radical or weird phenomena that can manifest itself when people encounter the divine. However, like the advice given by Elisha to Naaman the Syrian (2 Kgs 5: 10) there is nothing extreme here. Thus, the road to conversion and holiness is to be found in a changes of behaviour that lead us to transform ourselves in the ordinariness of daily life. Let us, therefore, hanker after the miraculous or strange but dedicate ourselves to incremental improvements in our following of the gospel so that over time we may know and love the Lord more and more. In this way we will come to experience the joy of those who know the gospel to be true and the power of God to be real: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4: 4-7)
No comments:
Post a Comment