20251130 CHRIST AS OUR CERTAIN HOPE REQUIRES A COMMITMENT TO HIS COMING
First reading | Isaiah 2:1-5 |
The Lord gathers all nations together into the eternal peace of God's kingdom
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In the days to come
the mountain of the Temple of the Lord
shall tower above the mountains
and be lifted higher than the hills.
All the nations will stream to it,
peoples without number will come to it; and they will say:
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Temple of the God of Jacob
that he may teach us his ways
so that we may walk in his paths;
since the Law will go out from Zion,
and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.’
He will wield authority over the nations
and adjudicate between many peoples;
these will hammer their swords into ploughshares,
their spears into sickles.
Nation will not lift sword against nation,
there will be no more training for war.
O House of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 121(122):1-2,4-5,6-9 |
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
I rejoiced when I heard them say:
‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel’s law it is,
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
of the house of David.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
For the peace of Jerusalem pray:
‘Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls,
in your palaces, peace!’
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
For love of my brethren and friends
I say: ‘Peace upon you!’
For love of the house of the Lord
I will ask for your good.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
Second reading | Romans 13:11-14 |
Our salvation is near
You know ‘the time’ has come: you must wake up now: our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon – let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps84:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy
and give us your saving help.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 24:37-44 |
The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.
‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’
CHRIST AS OUR CERTAIN HOPE REQUIRES A COMMITMENT TO HIS COMING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 2:1-5; ROM 13:11-14; MT 24:37-44]
As we come towards the end of the year, many of us no doubt are breathing a sigh of relief that we have managed to pass through yet another year without too much upheavals, and hoping for a better and brighter year ahead. The world needs hope. We hope for peace at home, in our offices, in our world. We hope for reconciliation and better relationships with our spouse, children, siblings or office colleagues. We hope for greater financial security, good health and for our lives to be put in order. Truly, it is this hope that sustains us.
But the fundamental message of Advent is that hope cannot be founded in this world, not even in man or in human friendship, but in God alone. Without God, there is no hope. If the secular world lives without hope and feels bewildered in the face of the enormous challenges of our times, it is because science and reason alone cannot resolve the world’s crises. Humanism, science and technology cannot solve our problems. They can change the world’s external structure but not the heart of man. Man’s salvation can ultimately come only from God, for man cannot provide the reason for his existence or the laws of morality. Only God, the creator of life and the lawgiver, can satisfy the heart of man. So to God alone must man seek for salvation, and in Him alone can man find his ultimate hope.
This indeed was what inspired the prophet Isaiah when he gave Israel hope as she faced destruction from the advancement of her enemy. Assyria would be the means by which God inflicted punishment on Israel and Judah for their perversion of justice, oppression of the poor, turning from the living God to idols, and relying on foreign powers instead of God. In spite of such a gloomy future, Isaiah believed that in the last days, the Temple would attract all nations by a force of unity — not because of its power but because of God’s presence and influence. In his vision, he visualised a paradisiacal future of peace — when all would walk in the ways of the Lord, and there would be no more fighting or wars among nations.
Advent is the season of hope. But Christian hope goes beyond merely declaring faith in God. It affirms that Christ is our hope because He is the light that shines in darkness. As the New Moses and the New Elijah, He will teach us not just the Law but the perfection of the Law through love and compassion. Jesus’ coming, therefore, is nothing less than the personal coming of the presence of the Lord. He is the One who will lead us to the Mountain of the Lord, where we find our centre, our unity, our security, and our peace. He is our healer, liberator, and hope. He is the light for humanity in a world of sin. His coming is the final visitation of God, and the fulfilment of Israel’s hope and dream prophesied by Isaiah.
The foundation of Christian hope is not merely an illusion but is based on past fulfilled promises. All the prophecies made by the prophets in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Christ. God has been true to His promises. In Christ, we read of how the final visitation of God was felt by His people. The blind received their sight, the lame walked again, the lepers were healed, the deaf could hear again, the dead were raised, and prisoners of injustice and sin were set free. But all the works of Jesus make sense only because the miracles and teachings of Jesus are vindicated by His death and resurrection.
What is more, these promises are not only of the past. Christian hope is based on our present experiences of the guiding hand of God in our lives. Our hope is more than just wishful thinking; it comes from the reality of what Jesus is still doing in our lives. God continues to be faithful to His promises even today. We see how the power of God continues to work in our midst. We see His miracles at work in our lives when we see lives changed, sicknesses cured, broken hearts healed, estranged relationships reconciled, the inconsolable comforted, the lost found, and those whose lives were empty now filled with meaning and enthusiasm.
But some of us might say we have not experienced His peace and love, and His healing grace. This is not because the Lord has not come or is not coming into our lives. It is we who have not been keeping awake at His coming. Twice in the Scripture readings, the exhortation to keep awake is given. St Paul wrote, “You know ‘the time’ has come: you must wake up now; our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted.” Jesus, in the Gospel, in a similar vein, warns us, “So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this: that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
What is keeping us from staying awake? What causes drowsiness in our spiritual life and shuts down our spiritual antenna? Primarily, it is our sinful way of life. When we allow Satan to take over our will and dominate our lives, we become blind to the Spirit of God at work in us. By living a sinful life of self-indulgence, licentiousness, promiscuity and self-centeredness, we block the grace of God from working in us. Anyone who lives in sin and for oneself alone cannot hope to find inner peace within or be at peace with one’s fellowmen. We like to blame our unhappiness on others, but most of the time it is because our pride has been wounded and our self-interests make us retaliate against others.
The desire for peace and unity must begin with the individual who seeks to live a life of integrity. This is what St Paul means when he says, “The night is almost over; it will be daylight soon. Let us give up all the things we prefer to do under the cover of darkness; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light.” All of us who do wrong seek to do so under the cover of darkness because we know such deeds will cause us shame and embarrassment, as they are evil deeds. No one who does wrong is proud to let the world know what he is doing. That is why sin is always to live in darkness, and everything is done “under the cover of darkness.”
In contrast, those of us who do the right thing and live upright lives can walk straight and tall because we know we are walking in the light. St Paul urges us to “arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime.” Prophet Isaiah also makes this same appeal: “O House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Those who walk with a clear conscience are always at peace within. They live without fear, even in sickness, because they are always ready to welcome the Lord. They have nothing to hide, nothing to condemn their conscience, and so live a life of inner freedom and joy. A person who does not carry guilt in his heart and who has done away with the sins that enslave him is one who lives in the light of freedom.
To walk in the light, of course, is more than merely living a moral life. To walk in the light is to let Christ, the Light of humanity, the Light that shines in darkness, the Light that gives hope to the nations, shine in and through us. The season of Advent is to let the Light of Christ shine in our lives. It is to allow the love of Christ in us to make us humble enough to ask for forgiveness, to be forgiving, to heal wounds and hurts caused by our impatience and harsh words, to be generous in helping those who are weak and deprived, and to be faithful in relationships, especially towards our spouse, children, friends and those under our care.
Consequently, the season of Advent calls us to make a responsible choice to specifically welcome Christ by being ready for Him at all times. The saying of Jesus about “two men in the fields, one taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one taken, one left” is to warn us that the Kingdom of God will pass us by if we do not choose Him. Entry into the Kingdom is not dependent simply on having good friends, even if they are very close to God. We cannot depend on our godly spouse or parents to help us enter the Kingdom life. We must make a choice by accepting God’s personal invitation and welcoming Him as the Light of our lives. This decision cannot be delayed because it might be too late, for Christ will come like a thief in the night. So let us take heed and wake up from a life of indifference, callousness and irresponsibility.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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