Ideas for teaching your students about this Sunday’s Gospel, including reflections, sharing ideas, activities and prayer.Dec. 13: Third Sunday of Advent
Luke 3:10-18
Dec 07
Lessons for the Sunday Gospel: Dec. 13
Ideas for teaching your students about this Sunday’s Gospel, including reflections, sharing ideas, activities and prayer.Dec. 13: Third Sunday of Advent
Luke 3:10-18
Reflecting
In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist tells the people what they must do to prepare for the Messiah. John gives very specific advice; he tells the people not to be selfish and not to be mean in their everyday lives. He tells them to share.
John tells the people who collect unfair taxes to charge nothing more than the taxes that are due. He tells soldiers not to be bullies or to accuse others falsely, and to be content with their pay. John also tells the people that one is coming who is mightier than he, and that person will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John knows how narrow and fearful the human heart can be. He knows that we can be greedy, jealous, mean, and vengeful. When we hear John’s specific directions about what to do to welcome the Messiah, we pause to think about our own behavior. We know that we, too, can be greedy, jealous, mean, and revengeful—in big ways and in small ways. Maybe we’ve hidden something that we didn’t want to share. Maybe we’ve exaggerated to make ourselves look better or to get attention. Maybe we’ve been lazy, disrespectful, whiny, jealous, or pouty.
During these weeks of Advent, we think about how our hearts might not be completely open to celebrating the birth of Jesus, to receiving Jesus every day in the goodness of others and in the Eucharist, to preparing our hearts for Jesus’ Second Coming. The specific advice that John gives his listeners is important to us today.
Sharing
What is an examination of conscience? How is our faith made stronger with a daily examination of conscience?
Acting
Take five minutes every day for a prayerful examination of conscience.
Praying
God, help us to prepare our hearts to receive your Son Jesus at any moment. Amen.
CATECHIST Magazine, November/December 2009
Copyright 2009, Peter Li, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, redisseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of Peter Li, Inc.
In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist tells the people what they must do to prepare for the Messiah. John gives very specific advice; he tells the people not to be selfish and not to be mean in their everyday lives. He tells them to share.
John tells the people who collect unfair taxes to charge nothing more than the taxes that are due. He tells soldiers not to be bullies or to accuse others falsely, and to be content with their pay. John also tells the people that one is coming who is mightier than he, and that person will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John knows how narrow and fearful the human heart can be. He knows that we can be greedy, jealous, mean, and vengeful. When we hear John’s specific directions about what to do to welcome the Messiah, we pause to think about our own behavior. We know that we, too, can be greedy, jealous, mean, and revengeful—in big ways and in small ways. Maybe we’ve hidden something that we didn’t want to share. Maybe we’ve exaggerated to make ourselves look better or to get attention. Maybe we’ve been lazy, disrespectful, whiny, jealous, or pouty.
During these weeks of Advent, we think about how our hearts might not be completely open to celebrating the birth of Jesus, to receiving Jesus every day in the goodness of others and in the Eucharist, to preparing our hearts for Jesus’ Second Coming. The specific advice that John gives his listeners is important to us today.
Sharing
What is an examination of conscience? How is our faith made stronger with a daily examination of conscience?
Acting
Take five minutes every day for a prayerful examination of conscience.
Praying
God, help us to prepare our hearts to receive your Son Jesus at any moment. Amen.
CATECHIST Magazine, November/December 2009
Copyright 2009, Peter Li, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, redisseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of Peter Li, Inc.
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