“What should we do?”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, December 16, 2012

There were two friends, Chris and Joe who got together to start a business. With time, the business thrived and prospered, and both of them became rich. One day a Christian preacher came to their village to preach and Chris gave his life to Jesus Christ. Thereafter he persuaded Joe to accept Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, but Joe refused. Confused by his friend’s refusal, Chris asked, “But why won’t you Joe?” “See Chris,” said Joe. “If I give my life to Jesus Christ as you did, we would become less rich because both of us would not be able to cheat anymore.”

Joe understands that accepting the message of Jesus and giving one’s life to him means a radical change in both personal and professional behavior. Following Jesus implies turning the page of past life and walking in the commands of the Lord. Many people who identify themselves as Christians do not seem to get it. A Gallup poll conducted some years ago in the USA saw there was little difference in moral behavior between church-goers and none church-goers. Many people who call themselves Christians think that they can add Christ to their lives without subtracting sin. To such Christians, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior implies a change of beliefs and not necessarily a change of lifestyle and behavior. If you have not heard it, I have heard it severally from preachers who say, “Believe only in Jesus and you will be saved. Faith alone is what is needed to be saved and not good works.”

But in today’s Gospel taken from Luke 3:10-18, John the Baptist tells us that such Christians are wrong. After going round the whole region of the Jordan preaching: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Let every valley be filled, and every mountains and hills be made low, straighten up the crooked way and make rough roads smooth, so that all flesh shall see the salvation of God,” people came to him and asked, “What should we do?” To the crowds of people, John the Baptist said to them, “Whoever has two coats should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” To tax collectors who came to him, John said, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” To soldiers he said, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Beloved in Christ Jesus, accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ demands a change of one’s personal conduct. It requires a change of behavior. It implies a change of thinking and acting. When the rich young man came to Jesus as is recorded in Matthew 19:16 and asked, “Teacher, what good must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus, like John the Baptist also gave him a do and not-to-do list: “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:18-19). And even when the rich man said, “I have kept all these from my youth,” Jesus gave him a more difficult to-do list: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Accepting the Gospel of Jesus means a radical change of behavior. The individual becomes a person who loves to share, rather than a person who loves to accumulate. The person becomes a person who live uprightly. Accepting the Gospel of Jesus implies doing something good, virtuous and noble. It requires a change of belief too. But belief alone is not enough! Good deeds or good works are also required to be a disciple of Jesus. They are required to make heaven. Good deeds are testimonies of good faith. They are the good fruits of good faith. When the rich young man asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” the first thing Jesus said to him wasn’t “Just believe in me.” Rather, he gave him a list of do’s and don’ts. It was later that he told the young man, “Come, follow me.” 

The dangerous tendency among us Christians today is the constant and stronger emphasis on belief/faith alone at the expense of moral behavior. For John and Jesus, change of behavior comes first before change of belief. The Gospel of Matthew 3:2 tells us that John the Baptist started his ministry with the message: “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The same Gospel of Matthew 4:17 also tells us that after his baptism, Jesus started his Galilean ministry with the message: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” To repent is to turn away from selfishness to a Godly behavior. To repent is to stop doing something bad. To repent is to begin to do something good and upright. To repent is to abandon bad deeds and embrace good deeds. These good deeds must precede and accompany belief. Good works give life to faith. 

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us resolve today to set aside everything that will hinder the birth of the Lord in our lives, hearts, homes and families. The best preparation we can make for the birth of our Savior is to repent, share our goods and resources in the spirit of the season and the Gospel.