For the second week in a row, as we celebrate tomorrow the Third Sunday of Advent, we find ourselves in the company of John the Baptist baptizing beside the river Jordan. He was preaching to all who care to listen to prepare a way for the coming of the God’s anointed one, the Messiah. John was: Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people. And the people were: filled with expectation and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize 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 with unquenchable fire.”
John the Baptist was a fearless preacher. He was willing to earn the ire of the Pharisees, the soldiers, tax collectors and all other public sinners to bring the good news of Christ. In the end the Gospel tells us that he had to pay for his boldness with his life. The contemporaneity of John’s message is remarkable. Two thousand years ago, he exhorted conversion and encouraged people to mend their crooked ways.
Today, his message rings true and takes urgency more than ever. Our society needs a John the Baptist to make us realize our imperfections and point to us the evil in our midst. When killings are done with impunity and utter disregard of the law and moral principles; when those who do not agree are put to shame and accused baselessly into submission; when there is zero tolerance for dissent; when the rights of the poor and the weak are disregarded without any compunction, we need the moral fortitude and intrepidity of John the Baptist who, in utter disregard of his comforts and safety, was more than willing to speak his mind and call a spade a spade.
Christmas is supposed to be a joyous season. It is the time to celebrate the coming of Christ with gift giving, parties and other joyful activities. Yet this year, these celebrations will be tainted by the memories of the thousands of human rights violations victims and the grief of their grieving families, by the death of those who, because they have the unfortunate idea of dabbling and trading in illegal drugs, had to suffer the ultimate, albeit incommensurate, penalty of death, without even the benefit of judicial trial prescribed by no less by the Constitution.
The massacre of the poor is what I have described it. The title of a recent New York Times interactive article, complete with photos and accompanied by podcast, captures this tragedy well: “They are slaughtering us like animals.” The “us” can be found in street corners and dark alleys, in urban poor areas, swimming in their own pool of blood and often wrapped with plastic bags and masking tapes, as if bullets would not be enough to silence them from telling their terrible tale of suffering.
Only those who close their eyes and hearts can celebrate Christmas undistrubed while this killing is happening around us.Thankfully though, as Pope Francis has written in Misericordia et misera, his apostolic letter at the conclusion of the extraordinary jubilee of mercy, “Another face of mercy is consolation.” According to Francis.
“Comfort, comfort my people” is the heartfelt plea that the prophet (Isaiah) continues to make today, so that a word of hope may come to all those who experience suffering and pain. Let us never allow ourselves to be robbed of the hope born of faith in the Risen Lord. True, we are often sorely tested, but we must never lose our certainty of the Lord’s love for us. His mercy finds expression also in the closeness, affection and support that many of our brothers and sisters can offer us at times of sadness and affliction. The drying of tears is one way to break the vicious circle of solitude in which we often find ourselves trapped.
All of us need consolation because no one is spared suffering, pain and misunderstanding. How much pain can be caused by a spiteful remark born of envy, jealousy or anger! What great suffering is caused by the experience of betrayal, violence and abandonment! How much sorrow in the face of the death of a loved one! And yet God is never far from us at these moments of sadness and trouble. A reassuring word, an embrace that makes us feel understood, a caress that makes us experience love, a prayer that makes us stronger… all these things express God’s closeness through the consolation offered by our brothers and sisters.
Sometimes too, silence can be helpful, especially when we cannot find words in response to the questions of those who suffer. A lack of words, however, can be made up for by the compassion of a person who stays at our side, who loves us and who holds out a hand. It is not true that silence is an act of surrender; on the contrary, it is a moment of strength and love. Silence too belongs to our language of consolation, because it becomes a concrete way of sharing in the suffering of a brother or sister.”
Today, December 10, we remember the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1948, among others, the nations of the world proclaimed that disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind. In that Declaration, in their collective wisdom, governments proclaimed that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Governments guaranteed that: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” And that: “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.”
On this third week of Advent, let’s renew, as a society, the promises our governments made in San Francisco 68 years ago. Let us listen to the voice of John the Baptist calling us to repent. Let us stand up for and with our neighbors who are being killed. Lets us console widows and orphans. Let us all shout: Tama na! Sobra na! Itigil na!
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