The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What then should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. 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. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire His winnowing fan is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” Exhorting them in many other ways,

He preached good news to the people.

Jesus calls for a rebirth

The birth of a child is a time of wonder that ushers in a season of renewal. The bond between husband and wife invariably begins to manifest new vigor with the coming of a child. The very news that a woman is expecting a child generates excitement among the couple’s circle of relatives.

The Israelites look forward not only with wonder but with hope to the birth of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets. Every Jewish maiden hopes to be married and give birth to a child who just might be the one in whom the “hopes and dreams of all the years” will be met.

Having lived under the yoke of various foreign powers – the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Macedonians, and the Romans – the Israelites have very definite ideas about the role of the Messiah. In today’s Gospel, those who have heard John the Baptizer preach about the coming of the Messiah, ask him: “What should we do?” Earlier, John told the crowd who came for baptism that it was not enough to claim that they were of Abraham’s stock. To be saved, he explained, one must prepare for the coming of the Messiah by being faithful to one’s calling (Lk 3:7-9). The coming of the Messiah will be a day of reckoning. True excitement and joy will be for those who are at peace with themselves, with others, and with God’s way of righteousness.

The message of John the Baptist rings true today, Gaudete Sunday. Genuine joy in the heart comes when we allow this season of intense preparation for the birth of Jesus to be our own season of rebirth.

Rebirth is a unique and intensely personal experience. As the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines puts it: “Within one universal vocation to fulfill the mission of the Church, the various ‘vocations’ in the one people of God have each a particular role. The lay faithful ‘seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs. The world becomes the place and the means for the lay faithful to fulfill their Christian vocation.’ It is in the world that they are to grow in holiness in the family, work, and recreation, in the vast fields of economics, politics, and culture” (Plenary Council of the Philippines II, Acts, nn 403-406).

Richard Cardinal Cushing describes rebirth thus: “If all the sleeping folks will wake up, and all the lukewarm folks will fire up, and all the dishonest folks will confess up, and all the disgruntled folks will sweeten up, and all the discouraged folks will cheer up, and all the depressed folks will look up, and all the estranged folks will make up, and all the gossipers will shut up, and all the dry bones will shake up, all true soldiers will stand up, and all the Church members will pray up, then you can have the world’s greatest renewal.”

Young or old, we are once again filled with the excitement that Christmas brings. But will the joy and excitement be ours to keep and treasure? Yes, if this Christmas of Jesus’ birth will be our own rebirth. Let us therefore look into ourselves and ask: “What kind of a person am I?”

SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph