Do not be discouraged, Christ's birth is near

Published: December 19, 2009

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor

By Bishop Anthony B. Taylor

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor delivered the following homily Dec. 13.

All of us are afraid of something -- it is simply the human condition. What do you fear? Crowds, illness, snakes or elevators? That people might find out something about you or your past that you've kept carefully hidden?

Are you afraid of the dangerous characters who've started hanging around your neighborhood? Some of our fears are irrational, but others are quite reasonable and even unavoidable, and the best we can do is face them courageously. Courage does not mean fearless. Courage is when we confront our fears and despite what could happen, still go ahead and do what is right.

The reason we light a pink candle -- a cheerfully colored candle -- on this third Sunday of Advent is that we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel of our fears as we see in the Scriptures we just heard. In our first reading the prophet Zephaniah proclaims that once the Lord is in (our) midst, (we will) have no further misfortune to fear. On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty Savior ..."

And as our pink candle proclaims, that day is almost here. In our Gospel, John the Baptist speaks words intended to encourage the faithful and put the fear of God into those who are not, in the hope that they will repent and change their ways while there is still time. What should (they) do? He says: share with the poor, stop exploiting others, speak the truth and be satisfied with what you have. When the Mighty One comes he will gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. And in the meantime, St. Paul tells us in our second reading that we should be courageous: have no anxiety at all, not because there is nothing to be afraid of -- but rather because the Lord is near. He will keep us safe, enable us to overcome our fears and do courageously what is right.

What do we ask for every time we pray the Lord's Prayer? That God's kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that in the meantime he frees us from fear, 1) fear of lacking the necessities of life (Give us this day our daily bread), 2) fear of our own weakness and vulnerability (lead us not into temptation), and 3) fear of all that could do us harm (deliver us from evil, Amen!).

And during Mass I respond to your words with a prayer that reminds us of the hope represented by the pink candle that we lit today: Deliver us, Lord, from every evil and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.