Lk 3:10-18
In general, there are two strategies to make something better: Decrease the bad or increase the good.
The two are not identical. For instance, making something taste less bad is not the same as making it taste good, clothes that don’t stink aren’t necessarily clean, etc. One of my favorite phrases in Italian captures this: “Meno male.” It literally translates to “less bad,” but often means “thank goodness” and is said when you catch a lucky break. Yet still, “less bad” is underwhelming. It’s starkly different than making something actually good. Often, it’s tempting to see improvement only in terms of the “meno male,” making things less bad, even in the spiritual life.
That tracks with our Gospel for this Sunday, wherein St. John the Baptist seems to be providing courageous calls to repentance, but which always seem to land on “less bad” instead of “more good.” His advice to his hearers is very reasonable, but kind of sad that it needs to be given in the first place. Stop hogging your food and clothing. Stop stealing, lying and cheating. Repent, avoid sin, and be less bad.
For this, the crowds are ready to name him the Messiah, which shows just how beautiful, humble and powerful his witness was. After all, at least “less bad” was an improvement. John was a ray of hope piercing the darkness of the world. Preaching to a world that has agonized through the midnight hours of sin without relief, John provides the first cracks of dawn by which people can just start to see truth, goodness and beauty anew. By the dawning light of the forerunner, hope again becomes visible.
It reminds us to be patient, not to make the perfect the enemy of the good, and that even flawed and stumbling attempts at the good, the “less bad,” can still be beautiful. All this is fitting for Gaudete Sunday, where the Advent purple gives way to rose, a sign of dawning light that points to a fuller golden-white Christmas splendor to come.
But still, to those claiming John as the Messiah, one might ask: Is that (less bad) all there is? Is that all the Messiah came to bring? Tips for making your day less bad or the darkness a little less dim?
Thankfully, John points to the truth: “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Repentance is necessary, but it paves the way for something better.
One mightier than John is coming. A lot mightier in fact, such that John, great as he is, feels unworthy to touch even his sandals. And here is the reason for our Advent joy, which exceeds even the best hopes the world has to offer: There is, in Christ and his grace, something so much better than “less bad.” We could even call it “very good.” In fact, it’s the wellspring of all goodness that completely banishes the darkness of sin altogether just like the noonday sun banishes shadows. We can see by the light of dawn, but full sunlight is more dazzling, revealing the true color and beauty of things in a way that has no rival.
As Christians, we rejoice in Christ’s light come into the world in fullness. It means that, by life in the Holy Spirit, we cannot just avoid sin, but live in virtue. Beyond “not stealing or selfish hoarding,” we can make a gift our ourselves in Christlike generosity. We can proceed beyond foolishness, through worldly craftiness, even to arrive at prudence and wisdom itself. We can even live not by lies, but courageously and boldly for the truth. All that, we do in Christ. We don’t just dodge the bullet of sin and death by a lucky break, to which we merely say “meno male.” Rather, by God’s mercy we even inherit eternal life, and in rapture we proclaim “Deo gratias.” For what did the Messiah bring beyond “less bad,” if not the goodness of God himself?
Fr. Miserendino is chaplain at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.
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Lk 3:10-18
In general, there are two strategies to make something better: Decrease the bad or increase the good.
The two are not identical. For instance, making something taste less bad is not the same as making it taste good, clothes that don’t stink aren’t necessarily clean, etc. One of my favorite phrases in Italian captures this: “Meno male.” It literally translates to “less bad,” but often means “thank goodness” and is said when you catch a lucky break. Yet still, “less bad” is underwhelming. It’s starkly different than making something actually good. Often, it’s tempting to see improvement only in terms of the “meno male,” making things less bad, even in the spiritual life.
That tracks with our Gospel for this Sunday, wherein St. John the Baptist seems to be providing courageous calls to repentance, but which always seem to land on “less bad” instead of “more good.” His advice to his hearers is very reasonable, but kind of sad that it needs to be given in the first place. Stop hogging your food and clothing. Stop stealing, lying and cheating. Repent, avoid sin, and be less bad.
For this, the crowds are ready to name him the Messiah, which shows just how beautiful, humble and powerful his witness was. After all, at least “less bad” was an improvement. John was a ray of hope piercing the darkness of the world. Preaching to a world that has agonized through the midnight hours of sin without relief, John provides the first cracks of dawn by which people can just start to see truth, goodness and beauty anew. By the dawning light of the forerunner, hope again becomes visible.
It reminds us to be patient, not to make the perfect the enemy of the good, and that even flawed and stumbling attempts at the good, the “less bad,” can still be beautiful. All this is fitting for Gaudete Sunday, where the Advent purple gives way to rose, a sign of dawning light that points to a fuller golden-white Christmas splendor to come.
But still, to those claiming John as the Messiah, one might ask: Is that (less bad) all there is? Is that all the Messiah came to bring? Tips for making your day less bad or the darkness a little less dim?
Thankfully, John points to the truth: “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Repentance is necessary, but it paves the way for something better.
One mightier than John is coming. A lot mightier in fact, such that John, great as he is, feels unworthy to touch even his sandals. And here is the reason for our Advent joy, which exceeds even the best hopes the world has to offer: There is, in Christ and his grace, something so much better than “less bad.” We could even call it “very good.” In fact, it’s the wellspring of all goodness that completely banishes the darkness of sin altogether just like the noonday sun banishes shadows. We can see by the light of dawn, but full sunlight is more dazzling, revealing the true color and beauty of things in a way that has no rival.
As Christians, we rejoice in Christ’s light come into the world in fullness. It means that, by life in the Holy Spirit, we cannot just avoid sin, but live in virtue. Beyond “not stealing or selfish hoarding,” we can make a gift our ourselves in Christlike generosity. We can proceed beyond foolishness, through worldly craftiness, even to arrive at prudence and wisdom itself. We can even live not by lies, but courageously and boldly for the truth. All that, we do in Christ. We don’t just dodge the bullet of sin and death by a lucky break, to which we merely say “meno male.” Rather, by God’s mercy we even inherit eternal life, and in rapture we proclaim “Deo gratias.” For what did the Messiah bring beyond “less bad,” if not the goodness of God himself?
Fr. Miserendino is chaplain at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.
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