Third Sunday of Advent Baca lebih lanjut
Third Sunday of Advent
First Reading
Zephaniah 3,14-17
Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! Yahweh has repealed your sentence; he has turned your enemy away. Yahweh is king among you, Israel, you have nothing more to fear. When that Day comes, the message for Jerusalem will be: Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp. Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Saviour. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you,
Psalmody
Psalm 12
Antiphon
How long will your hide your face from me O Lord.
How long, O Lord, will you forget me?
How long will you hide your face?
How long must I bear grief in my soul,
this sorrow in my heart day and night?
How long shall my enemy prevail?
Look at me, answer me, Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes
lest I fall asleep in death,
Lest my enemy say :'I have overcome him';
lest my foes rejoice to see my fall.
As for me, I trust in your merciful love.
Let my heart rejoice in your saving help;
Let me sing to the Lord in his goodness to me.
Second Reading
Philippians 4,4-7
Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful. Let your good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude, and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Reading of the Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 3,10-18
When all the people asked him, 'What must we do, then?' he answered, 'Anyone who has two tunics must share with the one who has none, and anyone with something to eat must do the same.' There were tax collectors, too, who came for baptism, and these said to him, 'Master, what must we do?' He said to them, 'Exact no more than the appointed rate.' Some soldiers asked him in their turn, 'What about us? What must we do?' He said to them, 'No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!' A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to wonder whether John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all, 'I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise 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 in a fire that will never go out.' And he proclaimed the good news to the people with many other exhortations too.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Homily
This third Sunday of Advent brings us to the banks of the river Jordan with John the Baptist and the crowds that were gathering around the prophet. We too ask ourselves: "What then should we do?" It is the question of this Advent. We recognize our limits, our enclosures. We are often satisfied with ourselves, our habits, and our pride, and we think we have done everything that is possible; we cannot go any further. But in doing this we close the doors of our hearts. If we are waiting for a different world, one that is more peaceful, just, and caring, we must open our hearts to the prophet, to the Gospel, and ask, "What then should we do?"
John asks us to be serious, honest, and loyal. He urges the soldiers to reject violence and not to harm others. With simplicity he adds, "Do not abuse and be satisfied." It is a reminder to act in a gentle and humane way towards others, whoever they are. It is an important reminder in a society like ours, where it is easy to treat others badly, especially when we do not know them. John then asks us to be satisfied. It is a reminder to have limits, a reference to the wisdom of not chasing after all the things that satisfy us, consuming them one after another, even at the cost of trampling on others.
And then there are the people who listen to John. They are people who are not too bad off, who have two coats and enough to eat. They are the people of our world and our cities. We should reflect on John's answer to them: "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." This too is a simple and clear answer. We need to ask ourselves how to give something to eat to those who do not have it and how to clothe those who do not have clothing. How can we stay calm when so many people in the world do have food or clothing? This is a major issue in our time. If our world continues to cast aside the poor and the weak, we are asked to widen our hearts to the ends of the earth, so that none "of these little ones should be lost."
John's preaching invites us to look to this wider horizon. John knew he was not the Messiah, and said plainly, "one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." But he was aware of his responsibility of being a "voice" that cries out. And this responsibility honoured him to the point of martyrdom. Like the Baptist we too are aware of our smallness but also of our responsibility to proclaim the "good news" of the kingdom of God to all.
Doa merupakan jantung kehidupan Komunitas Sant'Egidio dan merupakan prioritas yang paling penting. Di penghujung hari, setiap Komunitas Sant'Egidio, besar maupun kecil, akan berkumpul di sekeliling Tuhan untuk mendengarkan sabda-Nya. Sesungguhnya Sabda Allah dan doa merupakan landasan seluruh kehidupan Komunitas. Para rasul tidak bisa tidak selain tetap di sekitar kaki Yesus, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Maria dari Bethani, untuk menerima kasih dan belajar cara-Nya (Fil. 2:5).
Sehingga setiap malam, ketika Komunitas kembali ke kaki Tuhan, Komunitas mengulangi kata-kata dari rasul tak bernama: "Tuhan ajarkanlah kami cara berdoa" Yesus, Sang Guru, terus menjawab: "Ketika kamu berdoa, katakanlah: Abba, Bapa". Hal itu bukanlah satu seruan sederhana. Dengan kata-kata ini, Yesus membiarkan para murid untuk berperan serta dalam hubungan mereka sendiri dengan Bapa. Oleh sebab itu, fakta bahwa sebagai anak-anak Bapa yang bertahta di surga, muncul sebelum kata-kata yang mungkin kita ucapkan. Jadi doa di atas segalanya merupakan cara untuk menjadi manusia. Ini untuk mengatakan bahwa kita anak-anak yang berpaling kepada Bapa dengan iman, dan yakin bahwa hal itu akan didengar.
Yesus mengajar kita memanggil Allah dengan sebutan "Bapa Kami" Tidak hanya "Bapa" atau "Bapaku" Para murid, meskipun mereka berdoa dengan cara mereka, tidak pernah terisolasi tidak juga menjadi yatim; mereka selalu menjadi anggota keluarga Tuhan.
Dalam doa bersama, di samping misteri anak Allah, ada juga misteri persaudaraan, seperti Bapa Gereja mengatakan: "Kamu tidak bisa memiliki Allah sebagai Bapa tanpa memiliki gereja sebagai ibu". Ketika berdoa bersama, Roh Kudus menyatukan para rasul di ruangan atas bersama dengan Maria, Bunda Allah, sehingga mereka dapat memusatkan pandangan mereka kepada wajah Tuhan dan belajar dari Dia rahasia hati-Nya.
Komunitas Sant'Egidio di seluruh dunia berkumpul bersama di berbagai tempat doa dan menghamparkan di hadapan Tuhan harapan dan penderitaan manusia yang lelah dan letih seperti yang di katakan oleh Injil (Mat. 9:37). Dalam kumpulan di masa lalu ini kita bisa melihat jumlah massa yang sangat besar di kota-kota modern ini, jutaan pengungsi yang terus melarikan diri dari negeri mereka, orang miskin yang terpinggirkan ke tepi kehidupan dan mereka yang menantikan seseorang yang akan merawat mereka. Berdoa bersama termasuk di dalamnya tangisan, seruan, permohonan, keinginan bagi damai, penyembuhan dan penebusan manusia di dunia ini. Doa tidak pernah sia-sia, doa terus menerus kepada Tuhan sehingga mengubah kecemasan menjadi harapan, air mata menjadi kegembiraan, putus asa menjadi kebahagiaan, dan kesepian menjadi persatuan. Semoga Kerajaan Allah hadir segera di antara manusia.
