3C ADVENT SUNDAY HOMILY, LUKE 3:10-18, DECEMBER 15, 2024
1. STORY
Just before
Christmas, Ann was in the hospital for an operation. Her family visited her and gave her beautiful
flowers and gifts. Her friends sent her
many lovely Christmas cards. In the same
room was another patient, Mary. Ann
noticed that Mary had no visitors, no gifts, no flowers, and no Christmas
cards. One of the nurses gave Mary a
small Christmas tree. Both got along
very well. Ann wanted to give Mary a
gift but found all of her gifts too precious. She was unwilling to part with any of them. The day before Christmas as Mary was about to
leave the hospital, she wished Ann a very happy Christmas and gave Ann her only
gift, the small Christmas tree. When
Mary had left, Ann thought how wonderful Mary was as Mary had something that
Ann did not have. Mary had a generous
heart.
2. GOSPEL, LUKE
3:10-18
A. WHAT SHOULD WE
DO? When John the Baptist told of the coming of the Savior, the people asked
him what should they do to prepare for this great event.
B. JOHN THE
BAPTIST’S REPLY.
i) The Baptist
told the people that they must be GENEROUS.
ii) He told the
tax collectors that they must be HONEST.
iii) He told the
soldiers that they must be RESPECTFUL.
3. APPLICATION TO
LIFE
We must follow
the Baptist’s advice as we prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas.
A. BE GENEROUS. The Baptist tells the people that if they have two coats, they should give one away to someone who has no coat. We have been blessed materially and spiritually. Be generous by praying for a sick person, calling a lonely person, and helping the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
B. BE HONEST. The tax collectors were tempted to be greedy and cheated the people. We are honest to God when we give him some of our time in daily prayer. We are honest to people by realizing that they, though they are weak, are trying their best to be good. We must be kind, forgiving, and patient.
C. BE RESPECTFUL.
The soldiers were tempted to use their
position to treat people in a disrespectful way. We must be respectful to our parents, the
elderly, and our teachers. We treat
people with respect by what we say and do, such as giving up a seat to the
elderly on the bus. We must be
respectful to all as we are all children of God.
4. CONCLUSION
Ann was blessed
with many material things but did not have a generous heart. Mary had few material blessings but was
blessed with something more important as she had a generous heart. John the Baptist tells us how to prepare for
the coming of Christ at Christmas by being generous, honest, and respectful. We ask Jesus for his help to prepare well for
his coming at Christmas.