Rejoice in the Lord always! (Gaudete in Domino semper)
In today's readings the crowds are asking John the Baptist what they should do. They thought because of his wisdom and because he baptized people, that possibly here was the long awaited Christ. John tells them how they are to live, as justly, with concern for each other, and to be satisfied. He assures them, no he is not the Christ. That he merely baptizes with water, but the one coming after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire; that Christ will gather the wheat and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.
John is preparing the way for the Lord. He is teaching the people how they must live to prepare for Christ. He is telling them of God's loving mercy that those who follow in the way of the Lord will by caught up by Him and kept. They will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. The prophet Zephaniah reminds us that in this baptism of Christ, God rejoices over us and renews us in his love. How can we not be filled with excitement and joy at this? The path to that baptism is the journey of love through Christ our Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment