20251224 GOD WANTS TO BE CLOSE TO US
24 December 2025, Wednesday, 4th Week of Advent
First reading |
2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16 |
Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me
Once David had settled into his house and the Lord had given him rest from all the enemies surrounding him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘Look, I am living in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwells in a tent.’ Nathan said to the king, ‘Go and do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.’
But that very night the word of the Lord came to Nathan:
‘Go and tell my servant David, “Thus the Lord speaks: Are you the man to build me a house to dwell in? I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel; I have been with you on all your expeditions; I have cut off all your enemies before you. I will give you fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth. I will provide a place for my people Israel; I will plant them there and they shall dwell in that place and never be disturbed again; nor shall the wicked continue to oppress them as they did, in the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel; I will give them rest from all their enemies. The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House. And when your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty secure. I will be a father to him and he a son to me; if he does evil, I will punish him with the rod such as men use, with strokes such as mankind gives. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 88(89):2-5,27,29 |
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever
and set up your throne through all ages.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
‘He will say to me: “You are my father,
my God, the rock who saves me.”
I will keep my love for him always;
with him my covenant shall last.’
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Morning star, radiance of eternal light,
sun of justice,
come and enlighten those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:67-79 |
'You, little child, shall be the prophet of the Most High'
John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel
for he has visited his people, he has come to their rescue
and he has raised up for us a power for salvation
in the House of his servant David,
even as he proclaimed,
by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times,
that he would save us from our enemies
and from the hands of all who hate us.
Thus he shows mercy to our ancestors,
thus he remembers his holy covenant
the oath he swore
to our father Abraham
that he would grant us, free from fear,
to be delivered from the hands of our enemies,
to serve him in holiness and virtue
in his presence, all our days.
And you, little child,
you shall be called Prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare the way for him,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins;
this by the tender mercy of our God
who from on high will bring the rising Sun to visit us,
to give light to those who live
in darkness and the shadow of death
and to guide our feet
into the way of peace.’
GOD WANTS TO BE CLOSE TO US
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Sam 7:1-5,8-12,14,16; Luke 1:67-79]
In the first reading, we read how King David was feeling guilty and uneasy that he was “living in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwells in a tent.” Indeed, all his military successes and his ability to overcome all his enemies would not have been possible without God’s mighty help. Having united the country and brought peace and stability, he could now focus on building the economy and trade. But it bothered King David that the ark of God was dwelling in a tent. When David wanted to build a house for the Lord, the prophet Nathan initially agreed, as it seemed a gracious thing for the king to do. So he said to David, “Go and do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.”
Yet, the fact is that God has always chosen to live in a tent so that He could be close to His people. When the Israelites were nomads, moving from one location to another, the Lord moved with them. A tent was not permanent; it could easily be dismantled and rebuilt. God wanted to be with His people. He was with them in their struggles, in their pains, and especially when they were attacked by their enemies. Whenever they brought the Ark of the Covenant with them, they won the battle. But now that the Israelites were living a sedentary and agrarian life, permanently settled in the Promised Land, King David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
Yet, while building a Temple to honour God and to house the Ark of the Covenant was a noble and generous act on the part of King David, it could lead to a separation between faith and life. This is what happened. God was presumed to be found only in the Temple. The people forgot that God had always been with them in their journeys and in their daily lives. With the Temple, God was remembered only when they came to render worship to Him. Outside the Temple, they lived their lives not in accordance with the Law of Moses. They failed to observe the covenantal laws that were meant to help them live as God’s people, so that their unity and prosperity would make them an envy to the other nations.
When faith is dichotomized from life, faith is reduced to a mere set of rituals, and God appears far away. This is true even for us today. In a secularised world, we are expected to live as if there is no God, since we are not supposed to speak about Him in public or even display signs of His presence. God today is often relegated to the church and the home. We hardly speak of Him or are reminded of His presence. Even though we may be Catholic, when we are in the secular world carrying out our work or business, our Catholic ethos and Gospel values are often forgotten. We conduct ourselves like pagans in our relationships with others. We behave like the world–competitive, unforgiving, destructive, unscrupulous, and self-serving.
Hence, the Lord told David through the prophet Nathan that He did not need a Temple. He said, “Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel; I have been with you on all your expeditions; I have cut off all your enemies before you. I will give you fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth.” God is greater and more powerful than anything David could do for Him. The Temple is secondary to God. It exists not so much for God as for human beings. Indeed, this is true even today. The Church is built for humanity, not so much for God. God does not need a dwelling place, because the whole earth belongs to Him. Rather, we build a Temple or a church so that we do not forget His presence and His love for us. It is a place where we can gather regularly to pray and worship, and where we can encounter God in a sacred atmosphere. Thus, the Temple or Church is more for us than for God Himself. We need a church to remind us of God’s presence.
On the contrary, God does not want us to forget that He is present not only in the Eucharist, in the Tabernacle, or in the Word of God, but also very much present with and within His people. That is why the Lord told David, “The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House. And when your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty secure. I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established forever.” This house of David is more than merely the continuation of David’s royal throne.
Hence, on the eve of Christmas, we prepare for the birth of our Lord, when the Word who took flesh nine months ago in the womb of Mary will now be born in our midst. In the birth of Jesus, the promise made to David was fulfilled. In fact, the Davidic dynasty came to an end with the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 587 BC, after which Israel came under the rule of foreign powers. Not even during the Maccabean revolts was the dynasty restored. But God is faithful. God did the unexpected when all hope seemed lost. He revived that hope again with the birth of His Son. No one could have imagined that God would still be faithful to His promise to David. God bides His time, and He knows when to act.
Zechariah praised God saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited his people, he has come to their rescueand he has raised up for us a power for salvation in the House of his servant David, even as he proclaimed, by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times, that he would save us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us. Thus, he shows mercy to our ancestors, thus he remembers his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham that he would grant us, free from fear, to be delivered from the hands of our enemies, to serve him in holiness and virtue in his presence, all our days.” The psalmist likewise declared, “I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord; through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth. Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever, that your truth is firmly established as the heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: I will establish your dynasty for ever and set up your throne through all ages. He will say to me: ‘You are my father, my God, the rock who saves me.’ I will keep my love for him always; with him my covenant shall last.”
The truth is that Christ’s kingdom, unlike what the Israelites and the Jews had expected, is not territorial or political. It is a spiritual kingdom. Jesus made this clear when Pilate questioned Him: “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here” (Jn 18:36). His kingdom is one of love and justice, reigning in our hearts and in our lives. This is why Jesus refused to allow the crowd to crown Him king. Throughout His earthly ministry, He made no claims to political royalty. Instead of proclaiming the kingdom of David, He proclaimed the Kingdom of God. Christ came to deliver us not from our physical enemies, but from our spiritual enemies. These are the true enemies that rob us of happiness: pride, anger, envy, sloth, lust, gluttony, and greed.
The question we must ask ourselves is this: how can we ensure that His covenant endures forever in our lives? We must follow the way of John the Baptist. Zechariah proclaimed, “And you, little child, you shall be called Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him. To give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins; this by the tender mercy of our God who from on high will bring the rising Sun to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” We too must become that “little child,” continuing to prepare others to welcome the Lord. We do this by showing God’s mercy through our love and compassion, by enlightening those who live in darkness and have lost hope in life, and, most of all, by helping those who are confused and broken to find peace and joy through God’s forgiveness. Unless we help prepare the way for them to encounter the Lord when He comes, they may fail to recognize Him, because they remain wounded and blinded.
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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