20141204 CHRISTIAN HOPE IS SUSTAINED BY FAITH IN THE LORD WHO IS
OUR ROCK
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Isaiah 26:1-6 ©
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That day, this song
will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong
city;
to guard us he has
set
wall and rampart
about us.
Open the gates! Let
the upright nation come in,
she, the faithful one
whose mind is
steadfast, who keeps the peace,
because she trusts in
you.
Trust in the Lord for
ever,
for the Lord is the
everlasting Rock;
he has brought low
those who lived high up
in the steep citadel;
he brings it down,
brings it down to the ground,
flings it down in the
dust:
the feet of the
lowly, the footsteps of the poor
trample on it.
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Psalm
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Psalm
117:1,8-9,19-21,25-27 ©
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Blessed in the
name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
Give thanks to the
Lord for he is good,
for his
love has no end.
It is better to take
refuge in the Lord
than to
trust in men;
it is better to take
refuge in the Lord
than to
trust in princes.
Blessed in the
name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
Open to me the gates
of holiness:
I will
enter and give thanks.
This is the Lord’s
own gate
where the
just may enter.
I will thank you for
you have answered
and you
are my saviour.
Blessed in the
name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
O Lord, grant us
salvation;
O Lord,
grant success.
Blessed in the name
of the Lord
is he who
comes.
We bless you from the
house of the Lord;
the Lord
God is our light.
Blessed in the
name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Is40:9-10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Shout with a loud
voice, joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Here is the Lord God
coming with power.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Is55:6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Seek the Lord while
he is still to be found,
call to him while he
is still near.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew
7:21,24-27 ©
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Jesus
said to his disciples: ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in
heaven. ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on
them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down,
floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did
not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of
mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on
sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it
fell; and what a fall it had!’
CHRISTIAN
HOPE IS SUSTAINED BY FAITH IN THE LORD WHO IS OUR ROCK
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: : IS 26:1-6; MT 7:21.24-27
We all live in hope. We study hard because we hope
that one day we will be successful and happy in life. We cultivate
friends in the hope that they will stand by us especially in times of
difficulty. We exercise because we hope that we will be healthy and not fall
sick so easily.
But is our hope certain
and substantiated? There are many people who seldom exercise and
still live a long life. There are many of us who have studied hard to
pass our exams and yet not make it in life. Indeed, hard work, science
and technology alone, although necessary, cannot guarantee us happiness in
life. There are many things that cannot be foreseen.
However, for us Christians,
our hope is a certain hope. Advent celebrates Christian hope in a par
excellence manner. Indeed, as we begin a new liturgical and calendar
year, the Church deems it appropriate to speak on the theme of hope so that we
can cope with the challenges that lie ahead of us.
What is the basis of
Christian hope? Our hope is founded first and foremost on our trust in God. The prophet Isaiah assures us
that God is the everlasting rock. As rock, we mean that God is constant
and reliable. He is our strength and our portion. He is the rock of
refuge and deliverance (Psalm 18:2) and the rock in whom there is no wrong
(Psalm 92:15).
In the gospel too, Jesus
is called the rock. We are called to build on Jesus who is the rock
of our lives. What is this rock in the New Testament? This rock is
the person of Jesus and His teachings. To weather the storms in life, we
must anchor ourselves in Jesus and on His words, because His words are wisdom
and truth and life. If we want to live our lives meaningfully and
courageously, we must build the foundations of our spiritual life on Jesus and
His teachings.
But what does it take
for us to claim that God is our everlasting rock?
Faith is the
requirement.
This insistence on faith and trust in the Lord is fundamental to the book of
Isaiah. Only “those who trust in the Lord forever” can live in the new
city. “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm!” so declares
Isaiah in 7:14. He is the rock which sustains us. He is behind and
before us, around about us and within us, supporting us from beneath,
glorifying us from above. Thus, the psalmist urges us to take refuge in
our Lord rather than to trust in our own methods of protection, our self-made
walls. Truly, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in
man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
Unfortunately many of us
are like Ahaz, the King of Judah in today’s readings. He refused to
take heed of the advice of the prophet Isaiah. He was facing a crisis
because of an imminent invasion from the Northern Kingdom, Israel.
Instead of putting his trust in the Lord, he appealed to a pagan nation,
Assyria for help. As a consequence, he fell into their hands, turning
Judah a vassal state thereby losing national independence. Most of all,
it resulted in the infiltration of pagan practices as well. Yes, he was
shortsighted.
We too are often faced
with crises and threatening situations in life. Our lives are fraught with
tension, restlessness, fears and uncontrollable events that often upset our
career, financial status and personal relationships. We struggle with the
uncertainties of life and find no rest on this earth. At times, we see no
good alternative. This is where we are tested to the limits. Do we
ground our hope in firm faith and total trust in God, or do we compromise and
opt for a shifty and sandy foundation, relying on human ingenuity and
manipulations?
In such times we must
take heed of the warnings and encouraging words of Isaiah: “Be watchful and
be tranquil; do not fear and do not let your courage fail. By waiting and
by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies.”
(Isa 30:15) “Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal
rock.” Yes, we might have to suffer as Isaiah anticipated for his
people. But after suffering comes glory. God is coming to deliver
us and give us his justice. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord; we bless you from the house of the Lord.” He comes to those
who wait for Him.
How can we find trust?
Firstly, we need to humble ourselves before Him. As Isaiah tells us, the Lord will bring
“low those who lived high up in the steep citadel…” Indeed, there are
many people who trust in themselves and appear to be very successful in life,
but soon the Lord will humble them when they meet with tragedies. In
their helplessness they will know that God is the Lord and they are not their
own lords! So if we do not humble ourselves and remove the mountain of
arrogance from our lives, the Lord will one day bring us down to show to us
that He is indeed the Everlasting Lord and the Rock of our lives.
Secondly, we need to pray and
contemplate. We need to be silent in our hearts for it is in the
silence of the heart that God speaks. As Blessed Mother Teresa tells us,
“God is the friend of silence – we need to listen to God because it’s not what
we say but what He says to us and through us that matters. Prayer feeds the soul
– as blood is to the body, prayer is to the soul – and it brings you closer to
God. It also gives you a clean and pure heart. A clean heart can see God, can
speak to God, and can see the love of God in others. When you have a clean
heart it means you are open and honest with God, you are not hiding anything
from Him, and this lets Him take what He wants from you.”
But it is not enough
simply to listen and to trust. After listening to the Lord, we must
act. “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord,
Lord”, who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will
of my Father in heaven. ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words
of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on
rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves
against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But
everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be
like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods
rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!’”
Indeed, we must listen
to His words, obey them and put them into practice. Otherwise we will
not be able to withstand the shifting sands of our feelings, inclinations and
the opinions of those around them. We will not be able to oppose evil and
falsehood. Sin will gradually take root in us and we will eventually
abandon all practices of piety.
Faith must be
accompanied by action. Salvation is not just knowing Jesus or believing in Him, but we
must follow Jesus in obedience in doing the Father’s will, even to the extent
of accepting suffering and death. If we believe that Jesus is our Savior
then we must believe in everything that He has taught us, by His words or
deeds. By our actions, we show that we truly believe in Him. God cannot
be deceived. Our character is revealed in the choices we make, especially
in times of trial.
Of course, we must
always act through the strength and direction of the Lord. Our
actions must always be guided by a conscious turning to the Lord, for only when
we sense the Lord’s presence accompanying us in all that we do, can we find
peace and strength even in the face of adversity. We will be confident
that everything will work out well and even unpleasant events and suffering
will work out for our good. Never act except by the strength that comes
from the Everlasting Rock!
Let us implore the Lord for
this grace to listen to His words, to respond in faith and trust. Like
the psalmist we pray, “Open to me the gates of justice; I will enter them and
give thanks to the Lord. This gate is the Lord’s; the just shall enter it.”
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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