3rd Sunday in Advent – Cycle C
Spirituality of the Essential
The message of John the Baptist in the gospel text of last Sunday (2nd Sunday in Advent – year C) was, “Prepare a way for the Lord…” (Lk 3:4). After hearing this message, we see in the gospel text of today people going to him and asking him, “What must we do” (Lk 3:10). How do we prepare for the coming of the messiah? His general message to everyone is ‘Charity’. His message to the tax collectors is, ‘Justice’. And to the soldiers, “Be content!” John the Baptist seems to be well aware of the situations of each group and quite down to earth in his proposals.
So I too went to John the Baptist. “What about me? What must I do?” I asked. He said, “Live simply. Live a spirituality of the essential.” It took some time for me to realise that he was quite aware of the present energy crisis in the world.
During the season of Advent one of the themes that we often reflect about, is the theme of the messianic times. What would it be like? The prophets eloquently describe those times as being similar to the world before the fall: the paradiso. Prophet Isaiah says, “I will make rivers well up on barren heights, and the fountains in the midst of valleys” (Is 41:18). And elsewhere (Is 11:6-8), the prophet says, “The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid, calf, lion and fat-stock beast together, with a little boy to lead them.” The paradise that is painted here analogically is the ideal world that we hope for, and it is also a task to be achieved, as a believing community.
At Christmas we contemplate the mystery of incarnation: “And the word was made flesh” (Jn 1:14). God is found in the form of a little babe. The Christian God is not only a transcendent creator, but He became part of creation. The world is sacred not only because it was created by God, but also because it becomes the very altar of God. This calls for celebration. This calls for commitment. This calls for an ‘Incarnational spirituality’ in which we once again commit ourselves to an appreciation our responsibility to the physical world. This calls for a meaningful appreciation of our body. This calls us to situate our Christian faith in the context of contemporary history.
One of the important concerns of our contemporary history is the problem of energy crisis (climate change is just one aspect). What is actually needed right now to resolve the crisis of climate change is not just policies – but a change of heart, a change of life style, a new definition of development, a spirituality. Politicians only make short-term-focussed policies. It is religion that can inspire people to change. That is why, the topic of environmental crisis was rightly dealt with by Pope Francis in his encyclical, Laudate Si.
What is the problem? There are some who deny that there is a problem at all. They say, climate has always been changing. In the 4.5 billion-year history of planet earth there have been catastrophes, extreme climates, creation and re-creation of different forms of life. So what is the problem? The problem is that the present situation is largely contributed by human activity. The problem is that the rate of climate change itself is accelerating. The problem is that it is taking place before our eyes. The problem is that this change threatens our own existence. The problem is that the poor people are the ones who suffer most because of this, as the Pope often points out. What is the solution?
The solution: the Spirituality of the Essential
Jesus constantly invited his followers to a simplicity of life. Renunciation was his clarion call to the disciples. You might say, Oh, Jesus never went to a supermarket, he didn’t know even what a car is; he could not even afford a horse! But within the socioeconomic situation of his day, Jesus challenged the wealthy to live simple lives. It was a call to freedom and a sensitivity to the needs of the poor.
In the Acts of the Apostles (Chap 2 & 4) the early Christians took this seriously. “They sold their goods and possessions and distributed the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed” (Acts 2:45). When this ideal lifestyle was lost in the history of the Church in the 4th Century, Religious Life began as a radical form of living Christian life. Today, I think, religious poverty lived out radically, can take greater significance in terms of its implication on the environment. The simplicity of St Francis (of Assisi) could give him a status of the citizen of the universe. He could sing the praise of the Lord together with the “brother sun and sister moon.” In a similar vein,St John of the Cross could sing: “Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations … And all things are mine.” This is the paradox of Christian renunciation. Renunciation makes me own the whole world!
This can be extended to our Christian life in what I call, ‘a spirituality of the essential’. On the one hand this spirituality is based on needs rather than wants. On the other hand, it implies that we are owners of none yet we are stewards of all. As pilgrims on this earth we are called by God to till the earth and to care for it. We do not own the earth; we look after it for the next generation.
This spirituality of the essential calls for a simplicity of life. It is a counter-witness to the culture of consumerism, extravagance and the superfluous. Perhaps the contemporary slogan of 3R’s could work: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (in that order)! Perhaps making this Christmas a little more spiritual, rather than commercial, could help! Perhaps the 2nd reading of Christmas liturgy could inspire us too: “we must be self-restrained and live upright and religious lives in this present world, waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus” (Tit 2:12-13).