The Gospels continue to challenge us to the core. This is especially true in the way our social relationships have developed. Feeling safe and secure in the world are not things that come easily these days. Actually, we may find ourselves feeling more reservation, caution, reluctance, and fear than ever before. In a moment’s notice, life can drastically change. When someone has been intentionally and violently hurt, especially someone we love, we can all too easily find ourselves very attracted to the Old Testament philosophy of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

People are not property. We cannot exchange them at will or simply use them for our own designs and purposes. What does the word "commitment" mean to you? We can begin to understand its meaning by looking at some synonyms: dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, and bond. Commitment is primarily about relationship, and Jesus is all about relationships. How our lives affect others, how we treat our brothers and sisters, how we resolve conflict, and how we view the vows of marriage. Jesus' teachings on obeying the commandments, murder, reconciliation, marriage, divorce, and adultery all stem from the sacredness of commitment. All of this has a God connection.

What does it mean to be salt and light? If we listen carefully to Jesus' words, we gain some direction. To be salt means to bring taste, zest, and joy to life. We are asked to liven things up a bit by allowing the joy of our faith to spill over into the lives of others. Only a sincere and deep relationship with God can freshen up humanity and set it on proper course. To be light means that our faith must translate into action so that we can be Christ for others and extend the same arm of mercy and compassion that Christ did. Our acts of piety, then, cannot be directed solely at ourselves. Prayer is never about self-benefit but must always be directed toward union with God, deepening our relationships with one another and learning how to be effective stewards of the beautiful universe God has entrusted to our care.

It begins! Jesus is doing something new. "He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea." Jesus leaves his family, his profession of carpentry, and everything he has known and loved for the previous 30 years. He goes because it is time. Something new is beginning, and Jes us will not begin it alone. "As he w as walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers … he walked along from there and saw two other brothers." What does he say to these men? "Come after me." These words are for Peter and Andrew, for James and for John. They are also for all of us.

On the cusp of fame, power, or influence, would you turn it down? Today's Gospel again features John the Baptist. Controversial but popular, John has gathered quite a group of followers. He has disciples. People come from near and far to be baptized by him. Pharisees and government leaders are drawn to his preaching. If John was another man, a lesser man, he would have claimed his own greatness. Instead, John the Baptist is a witness to humility.

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God … he is the one of whom I said, "A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me."… the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known.'" Rather than point to himself, John points to Christ. John could have grasped at what he had accumulated. He could have seen Jesus as a Messianic competitor. Instead, John knows who he is. He knows his place as forerunner. Because John knows who Jesus is. "I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives four reasons for the Incarnation, why God became man in Jesus Christ. The third reason is “to be our model of holiness.” All of Jesus’ words and actions model for us what we ought to do. He also shows us how we’re meant to be. Jesus’ baptism ought to remind us of our own baptism and of the importance of baptism in the Christian life.

The Baptism of the Lord reminds us of our Trinitarian identity. When we are baptized, we stand in solidarity with Christ, bathed in the waters he sanctified. There, the Father proclaims our adoption into the family of God. “‘This is my beloved son [this is my beloved daughter], with whom I am well pleased.’” And the Spirit, too, descends. We are filled with the Spirit’s grace and power to continue Christ’s mission on earth. We received these gifts in the sacrament, and they continue to dwell within us through sanctifying grace. We can — and should — invite God to stir up these graces of our baptism and consider them in our own lives.

We may walk many roads when we search for God, and He leads us all the while. The men we honor today were not Jews. The Messiah wasn’t coming for them, not in the minds of Jesus’ contemporaries. These men were astrologers. They were adept at reading portents in the sky, a practice condemned in the Mosaic covenant. Still, to the best of their knowledge and awareness, they were seeking the truth. This truth led them to journey from their own homeland to honor a king they’d never met, one they couldn’t be sure truly existed. “‘We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.’” Who do you know seeks God so tenaciously?

“Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,” the Gospel tells us. Who are the seekers in your own life? Maybe it’s your cautiously curious coworker, the neighbor who unexpectedly found peace on a yoga retreat, or your desperately angry child who has chosen, for now, to go their own way. Perhaps they’re not overtly headed for Jesus now, not yet. But they may well be seekers of truth in ways we didn’t expect. Our invitation is to listen, inquire, and give directions when appropriate.

Each Advent season, we prepare to welcome Jesus into the inns and stables of our hearts. But Jesus' coming wasn't welcomed by everyone with choirs of angels. For St. Joseph, the first coming of Jesus was a bit more complicated. "When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit." For Joseph, opening his heart (and home) to Jesus meant, at best, appearing to all the world like a man who had impregnated his wife out of wedlock. At worst, he appeared a cuckold, raising the child of another man. God doesn't always appear the way we expect.

Who did you come to see? A version of this question is posed by Jesus many times in the Gospels. He asks it of Andrew and John when they begin to follow him. He asks it of Mary Magdalene in the garden of the resurrection. He asks it in today's Gospel. "What did you go out to the desert to see?" There is something innately human about "seeing." Animals have eyes — some with much more powerful vision than our own — but that's not the kind of seeing Jesus is talking about. We could phrase the question several other ways. "What are you looking for?" "What are you longing for?" "Whom do you seek?"

It is in seeing for ourselves that our suspicions or hypotheses are confirmed, that our desires discover their fulfillment, and that we can rest for a moment in certainty. John the Baptist sought certainty of Jesus' identity. "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" Jesus sends word to him based on the testimony of sight, observations of the mighty deeds Jesus has begun to work. "Go and tell John what you hear and see."

What does it mean to be worthy? There are a few different ways to approach this question. Today's Gospel highlights two: the way of the Pharisees and the way of John the Baptist. Our faith values good works and discipleship. Perhaps, then, we "earn" our worth by adhering to the right doctrines and following the right pious practice. The Pharisees thought they were worthy. Due to their religious pedigree and proper procedures, they were self-satisfied. John the Baptist's words to them are strong. "Do not resume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'" Of course, Jesus (and John) don't omit the responsibility for moral behavior. John gives the Pharisees quite a strong warning in that regard. "Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance … every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

“I’m never getting enough rest! How can I possibly be ‘asleep’?” In a world of jam-packed schedules and high anxiety levels, physical rest may be hard to come by. Yet relentless pursuit of our to-do lists and social calendars may keep our minds off of the things that really matter. Jesus knows all too well a pattern of busy, harried ignorance. “In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage … they did not know until the flood came and carried them all away … two men will be out in the field … two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.” When it comes to the spiritual life, we can be at work or at relaxation and still be spiritually asleep.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

“The rulers sneered … the soldiers jeered … one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus.” Is this the King of the Jews, the King of the Universe? If it is so, perhaps his kingdom is not at all what we would expect! In his letter to the laity, St. John Paul II spoke about how Christians share in the kingly mission of Christ. First, “they exercise their kingship as Christians, above all in the spiritual combat in which they seek to overcome in themselves the kingdom of sin.” In other words, before we give any thought to transforming society, we must first allow God to transform us. Through daily prayer, regular self-examination, and frequent confession, we can recognize our faults more readily and choose love instead!

Christ loves us first. So much of the Christian life is as simple as that. Today’s Gospel is a prime example! “Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man … was seeking to see who Jesus was.” We may have gotten used to the story of Zacchaeus, this short, seemingly innocent man who climbs a sycamore tree in his desperate desire to see Jesus. But this colorful, children’s Bible illustration isn’t what the gathering crowd would have seen. They would have seen the white collar criminal. Tax collectors were notorious for extortion. They were collaborators with the oppressive Roman overlords, overcharging for taxes and skimming a cut off the top. And how does Jesus respond to this man?

“Come down quickly,” Jesus says, “for today I must stay at your house.” If you had been there, would you have believed it? No doubt there were other disciples in the city or, at the very least, kind, generous, and just people. “Good” people. But those aren’t the people Jesus chooses to share a meal with. Christ loves us first. He chooses Zacchaeus even before the man makes a public profession of his repentance.

“The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” We may not be tax collectors and extortionists — I hope not! — but we all have elements of our lives that are lost. We have wounds from childhood, unresolved anxieties or attachments, daily fears. No matter how “put together” we are, we all have our lost moments. Some days, it may feel like we can’t see over the ways they crowd our inner life. Today’s Gospel invites us to do something a little strange. Don’t let your flaws, failures, or hang-ups prevent you from seeing Jesus. Take a deep breath. Go climb a tree, because Jesus is passing by. And he wants to stay in your heart today.