3. Advent Sunday C Luke 3,10-18

Only twice a year can a priest wear a pink robe – on the 3rd Sunday of Advent and the 4th Sunday of Lent. Both Sundays symbolize the joy of the approaching Christmas or Easter holidays. Even today’s church service has an element of pleasure because the Christmas holidays are just around the corner. Once again, we will be more intensely reminded of the greatness of God’s love when God sent his only begotten Son into the world to become like us in everything except for sin. The Prophet also expresses joy in today’s first reading: Rejoice, daughter of Zion, rejoice, Israel; Rejoice with joy from your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!

Perhaps these Advent texts seem too familiar to us and, therefore, uninteresting, but let’s try to realize what they meant to the people of the time when these prophets walked among them and preached with fire. Let’s try to put ourselves in their position and feel the state of man after original sin. The Hungarian poet Madach portrayed him very nicely in the poetic drama The Tragedy of Man. He puts these words into Adam’s mouth: I feel that God has abandoned me and cast me out. I am pretty alone and poor. And further in despair, he calls out:  disappear because I’m crazy; what a terrible sight to stand wholly abandoned and helpless in this fight against the elements! Oh, why did I cast off the protecting hand of Providence, which I suspected but did not value and which I would now call in vain?

Maybe we feel it is not difficult to satisfy God for sin because He is good and merciful, so He should surely forgive. But man was utterly incapable of asking God to make amends for his sin. Through his fault, despite the warning, he plunged into the abyss of sin, insulted God, and infinitely moved away from him. It didn’t help to scream or regret this fall. Perhaps it seems strange that although a man could offend God infinitely, he was incapable of infinite satisfaction. To understand this better, let’s look into everyday life. Every day, we witness acts that cause evil and unhappiness. We can perform these actions without much effort, but it is often impossible to avert the damage we cause them. A person can indeed make an evil mistake that cannot be corrected. This applies both morally and spiritually.

Indeed, so was the original sin, which infinitely offended God, and therefore, infinite atonement and satisfaction had to come as a remedy, which, however, man could not perform. After all, all people sinned in Adam and fell with him into the abyss of separation from God. Everyone got hurt. It’s like a group of rock climbers falling off a wall. Only one caused the fall, but they all fell into the abyss since they were hanging on one rope. They get into a situation where only a foreign hand can help them, which has to pull them up, guide them, and even carry them. Man also fell so deep that he could not do anything alone; only God could save him. Only He could descend to the bottom of the abyss and bring him out; only God could restore his friendship with people, and He depended on the first step towards reconciliation. He did so not out of justice but out of love. After all, he had already promised correction in paradise, and through his Son, he also carried it out.

Perhaps after hearing these words, we are tempted to humanly ask whether it was reasonable for God to humiliate ourselves in this way. Have you ever thought about the extent of human love? What sacrifices is she capable of? I will give examples: Thirty years ago, priest Mário Gerlin was ordained in Italy. He was 50 years old. Why so late, you ask? He took care of his parents and three brothers for thirty years. Only he was healthy. He worked as a teacher and then as the mayor of the village. When he was 25 years old, he left his fiancee; although their love was great, the love for his suffering siblings and parents was even more incredible. When they all died, he became a priest. Or you’ve all met a mother who has a mentally disabled child.

Nevertheless, she does not put him in an institution but takes care of him with love, although she often knows that he will not experience any gratitude, perhaps not even a smile. When human love can manifest so wonderfully, how much more intensively will God’s love manifest itself because He is Love? Therefore, even today, we feel immense joy that he sent his Son into the world, who saved us from the abyss of sin and once again offered us God’s friendship. Let’s announce this joy to everyone we meet in the coming week. Let’s not forget to encourage them and ourselves so that in a good Christmas holy confession, we cleanse ourselves of our sins, come out of the abyss, and thus free up a place in our soul for Christ to be born.