The apparent delight of Prophet Zephaniah to proclaim that God will redeem Israel burst into his urging everyone to shout aloud with joy as in a festival.

St Paul insisted to the Philippians to dwell always on the happiness in the Lord; he qualified that the happiness is attainable with constant prayer in thanksgiving in the Lord who will guard their hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus.

It is heartening that after John the Baptist’s fiery preaching, he gave no harsh demands to his listeners to prepare for the coming of the Lord. He demanded simple justice - share what you have with others, meet their basic needs. If you are in a position of authority, don’t abuse power. No extortion or oppression - in other words, live the golden rule. If these are abided by, then they will be prepared to meet God. From him we also learn that the label we have or what others call us or what we call ourselves is not important. How we treat others and what sort of relationship we have with God is more important . To the eager crowds, he exhorts them to prepare for Christ who is more powerful to convert hearts.

Advent prepares our hearts to be more docile to gratitude. Perhaps, it is good practice to name ten grateful things of the day to God before dozing off to sleep. It instills the virtue of gratitude in recognizing God in our daily encounters.

Lord, May our gratitude be superfluous to the deeds we do for others.