Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18; Isaiah 12; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18
Today is the third Sunday of Advent, year C. It is called Gaudete Sunday.
Gaudete means rejoice or joy. Hence, the liturgical colour for today is rose – an expression of joy. We also light the third Advent Candle, which is the candle of joy, and is also called the Shepherd’s Candle. It reminds us of the joy that the shepherds had when they received the news of the birth of the Lord.
The theme of joy runs through the readings. In the First Reading, the Prophet Zephaniah exhorts the people to rejoice with all their hearts because God is with them, even in their afflictions and He will deliver them from their enemies and iniquities.
How beautiful are these words to a soul in crisis:
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
The Psalmist reinforces this message by inviting us to sing and shout for joy because God is in our midst.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul was rejoicing in the prison and exhorting the Philippians to do the same because God was for them and so they need not worry or be anxious about anything but surrender to God in prayer and thanksgiving.
Then, we have this very powerful Gospel. The people, tax collectors and soldiers came to John for Baptism and to ask what they must do as evidence of their repentance. Interestingly, John didn’t ask them to quit their jobs.
He only asked them to conduct themselves honestly and with the fear of God.
St. John had the courage to speak the truth to these people because his life didn’t contradict his message. He didn’t point attention to himself and he cared nothing for comfort, money or fame.
Let us ask ourselves three questions as we reflect on this Gospel.
I. What kind of work am I doing?
John didn’t ask the tax collectors and soldiers to resign. This was because there was nothing wrong with their jobs. What was wrong was the conduct of those doing the jobs.
Having said that, I wish to emphasize that there are jobs or side hustles (as it is called) that even Christians today carry out, which are very lucrative but do not glorify God. It is not enough to say, “It pays my bills.” We must consider this: “Is it a job which God approves, and does it honour God or encourage sin?”
For instance, would God approve of a Christian whose main job or side hustle is prostitution or stripping for money, human trafficking, working in abortion clinics, running a club where all sorts of sexual indecencies and perversions are promoted, faking papers and documents for people, drug dealing, gambling, defrauding others, being hired to do evil?
These are not jobs or hustles that a child of God should be part of, no matter how gainful they may be.
Again, if our jobs or our working environments make it impossible for us to deal honestly with people, to be true to our Christian conscience, then we must have a rethink. Good pay at the risk of eternal shame is a bad bargain.
II. How do I do my job?
Some of us have legitimate jobs but we are not working like good Christians.
Five things are important in whatever jobs we do.
We must be kind and compassionate to others – (kindness)
We must work with honesty, justice and integrity – (integrity)
We must do our work excellently – (excellence).
We must not violate our Christian conscience.
Our jobs must not be more important than God or our family.
Let us assess your jobs against these five canons.
III. What are the sins that are common in my own profession? Do I participate in them? If yes, which ones do I participate in and need to repent from?
Why is this necessary?
It is necessary because it is difficult to have true joy if our relationship with God is wobbly, marginal or threatened by our occupation. A job that endangers our soul is at best a trap.
Working in a way that doesn’t honour God has no eternal gain/value. Our work can become our worship if God is glorified in it.
It is a delusion to think of eternal joy with God if God is not happy with what I am doing right now or how I am doing the job He has blessed me with right now.
Sermon preached by Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on December 15, 2024.