Homily of Monday of the 4th week of Advent
Malachi 3:1-4,23-24, Luke 1:57-66
At times, we remain at a spot simply because we want to maintain the status quo. We do not dare to be different because we are afraid of the consequences of breaking from tradition. However, when we work with God’s directives, we do not bother about people’s opinion or expectations. God cannot be boxed into human routines or earthly traditions.
The naming ceremony of John the Baptist carried a profound message. It emphasizes the importance of following God’s directives, even when they challenge our traditions or customary practices.
“Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished.”
Those who gave themselves to be led by God will always be subjects of amazement in their vicinity. Nobody knows their next line of action because their lives are not governed by human dictates. Having given his life to God in total service, God stepped into Zechariah’s affairs and made him the father of the herald of Christ.
We too can dedicate our lives to serving God through our brothers and sisters, trusting that, in his perfect timing, he will guide us according to his eternal plan for us.
May our days be marked with God’s own merciful templates that our lives may be wrapped in divine awe capable of attracting others to him. Amen.
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