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3rd Sunday of Advent Year C - 13/12/2015 - Gospel: Lk 3: 10-18
The glory of God
Wealth and power and fame are worldly glories that people are thirsting for and hunting for because they can be translated into something else which we love. Wealth is translated into rich food served on the table while power provides services from the 'yes' men and fame spreads its reputation wing wide and far and it sooths the ego. People love to accumulate them because once an unknown person grabs the worldly glories their social status changes overnight and they feel that they belong to an upper class, a ruling class, the ones who have the voice and power and people submit to their commands. The worldly powers attract both the ruling class and common publicans. There is no limit because once a person has them they always want more and more. The worldly glories are the root of inhuman dealings with each other and the exploitation of both human labour and the ecology of the planet. The end results are natural disasters and starvation with lack of education, basic clean water to drink and limited medical assistance for the poor. People are clever to accumulate the worldly glories but poor in wisdom when it comes to knowing how to use their wealth wisely and when to stop accumulating them.

Jesus offers us something which is very precious and that is the wisdom of God. Intelligent urges us to take care of our lives, to do the accumulation of the worldly materials and secure for future use while wisdom teaches us to secure eternal life that is to share your gifts and talents to the poor and the needy. Intelligent makes us worry about retirement at an old age while wisdom asks us to look beyond retirement age and take care of the everlasting life when we have completed our pilgrimage on earth. Intelligent seeks worldly glory while wisdom helps us to seek for the glory of God. Having worldly glory you constantly worry about loosing it while having God's glory you are free enjoy it because God is the owner and you are the children of God, the beneficiary.   

Jesus has never talked about God's glory without talking about the suffering and pain that is ahead of it. The suffering and pain covers the true and everlasting glory. They last for sometimes and must give way for the everlasting happiness to come. Fear of suffering and pain delay the arrival of the true happiness. Pilate asked Jesus about God's kingdom. Jesus replied that God's kingdom is invisible from those who are thirsting for worldly glory.  Those who look for God's glory will experience the tranquillity and peacefulness right in their hearts and that is the foretaste of the true happiness in God's kingdom to come. God's kingdom begins in our hearts and it is the mystery that our hearts enjoy but our minds can't comprehend. God's kingdom grows in our lives when it moves us to love and to seek God's glory through serving the poor and the needy.  When you deny worldly fame you belong to the royal body whose head is Christ, Our Universal King.

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