WHOEVER HAS TWO COATS MUST SHARE

Luke 3:10-18

We are still moving on with the Advent season awaiting the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, not only as an anniversary of his birth but also and mostly as his spiritual coming in our lives. In today's gospel we have the rare opportunity of listening to the preaching of John the Baptizer telling us how to prepare for the coming our Savior

So what sort of preparation do we need to do for this Advent? How is John the Baptist calling us to prepare for Christ’s birth in our lives? As we heard it from the Gospel, different groups of people came to John asking him what to do. To the crowds his answer was: "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise" To the tax collectors John answered: "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you". And to the soldiers he answered: "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages".

John uses simple answers to convey the message of repentance during this period of Advent:  The Advent Season invites us to self-examination leading to a self-reform. Advent is a challenge to repentance. It is a challenge to do something for God. Look into your life, and find what you can do to prepare the coming of the Lord. The message we have from the gospel today is a message of charity, a message of love. We are called to prepare for the coming of the Lord through charity. Somebody is in need of you!

As we prepare to celebrate the coming of God to us in the birth of Jesus, let us call to mind that the basic problem with Christian faith today is that we profess to believe but do not match our faith with practical behavior. This self-contradiction constitutes a stumbling block for us believers. John prepared his people for the coming of Jesus by challenging them to amend their ways and believe his message. People from different ways of life came to him and asked him "What should we do?" His words had obviously touched their hearts. Supposing you went up to John the Baptist, and asked "What should I do?" What do you think his answer might be? This is our third week Advent, of preparing for Christmas. How do you think the preparation has been going? What should I do? What should you do?

through Christ our Lord.