20141209
HOPE OF BEING FREED FROM OUR SLAVERY TO
SIN
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Isaiah 40:1-11 ©
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‘Console my people,
console them’
says your God.
‘Speak to the heart
of Jerusalem
and call to her
that her time of
service is ended,
that her sin is
atoned for,
that she has received
from the hand of the Lord
double punishment for
all her crimes.’
A voice cries,
‘Prepare in the wilderness
a way for the Lord.
Make a straight
highway for our God
across the desert.
Let every valley be
filled in,
every mountain and
hill be laid low.
Let every cliff
become a plain,
and the ridges a
valley;
then the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed
and all mankind shall
see it;
for the mouth of the
Lord has spoken.’
A voice commands,
‘Cry!’
and I answered, ‘What
shall I cry?’”
– ‘All flesh is grass
and its beauty like
the wild flower’s.
The grass withers,
the flower fades
when the breath of
the Lord blows on them.
(The grass is without
doubt the people.)
The grass withers,
the flower fades,
but the word of our God
remains for ever.’
Go up on a high
mountain,
joyful messenger to
Zion.
Shout with a loud
voice,
joyful messenger to
Jerusalem.
Shout without fear,
say to the towns of
Judah,
‘Here is your God.’
Here is the Lord
coming with power,
his arm subduing all
things to him.
The prize of his
victory is with him,
his trophies all go
before him.
He is like a shepherd
feeding his flock,
gathering lambs in
his arms,
holding them against
his breast
and leading to their
rest the mother ewes.
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Psalm
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Psalm
95:1-3,10-13 ©
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Here is our God
coming with power.
O sing a new song to
the Lord,
sing to
the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord,
bless his name.
Proclaim
his help day by day.
Here is our God
coming with power.
Tell among the
nations his glory
and his
wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim to the
nations: ‘God is king.’
He will
judge the peoples in fairness.
Here is our God
coming with power.
Let the heavens
rejoice and earth be glad,
let the
sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all
it bears rejoice,
all the
trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of
the Lord for he comes,
he comes
to rule the earth.
Here is our God
coming with power.
With justice he will
rule the world,
he will
judge the peoples with his truth.
Here is our God
coming with power.
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Gospel
Acclamation
|
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Come, Lord! Do not
delay.
Forgive the sins of
your people.
Alleluia!
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Or
|
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The day of the Lord
is near;
Look, he comes to
save us.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 18:12-14
©
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Jesus
said to his disciples, ‘Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of
them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search
of the stray? I tell you solemnly, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than
do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will
of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.’
HOPE
OF BEING FREED FROM OUR SLAVERY TO SIN
SCRIPTURE
READINGS:IS 40:1-11; MT 18:12-14
Advent
celebrates the coming of Christ. It is a season of hope.
What would be the greatest hope of mankind if not the hope for peace? Indeed,
Christmas is the celebration of peace for all humankind. But peace cannot
be realized unless we are freed from our bondage to sin and the lack of
freedom. We live in misery because we cannot let go of our sins, be it
the sin of lust and the flesh, hatred and unforgiveness, insecurity and
possessiveness, envy and jealousy or greed and anger.
When we
are under the power of such sins, we become miserable and frustrated.
Indeed, to live in sin is already a punishment in itself. To live in sin
is to serve our sentence, as the first reading tells us, because we are hurting
our conscience and ourselves. We realize that we have been dumb like the
lost sheep in today’s gospel. Because of our blindness and ignorance, we
have gone astray and fallen into the valley of sin. We have played with
fire and so to speak, toyed with death whenever we allow drugs, sex, gambling,
alcohol or anything else to enslave us. What is even more insidious is
that our sins affect children and society, bringing untold harm to them as
well.
The
Good News is that God wants to deliver us from our misery. Prophet
Isaiah said, ‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that her time of
service is ended, that her sin is atoned for, that she has received from the
hand of the Lord double punishment for all her crimes.”
The
gospel assures us that Jesus our Good Shepherd is seeking us out, even
if we are the only lost sheep, each one of us is important to Him: “I tell you
solemnly, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that
did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in
heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” Jesus our Good
Shepherd leads the way to how we should live our lives. However, we
must make it possible for Jesus to show us the way. Thus, Prophet
Isaiah says, “Prepare in the wilderness a way for the Lord. Make a straight
highway for our God across the desert.” Yes, we must make ourselves
available to His love for He will not impose His love and goodness on us.
What
must we do then, in order to make the way for Jesus to enter into our
lives? Prophet Isaiah says, “Let every valley be filled in, every
mountain and hill be laid low, let every cliff become a plain, and the ridges a
valley; then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all mankind shall see
it; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Firstly,
we must remove the obstacles that prevent Jesus from touching our
hearts. Indeed, as Isaiah says, “every mountain and hill be laid
low.” What are these mountains and hills in our lives? The
mountains refer to the serious sins and the hills the less serious sins.
Yet all sins, even the less serious sins, can prevent us from having peace in
life. Small sins will eventually lead to big sins. We must not fall
into complacency and smugness simply because we have not committed big and
serious sins. Those who make no attempt to overcome their venial
sins will never attain real holiness but eventually will become lukewarm.
Secondly,
we must fill every valley. In other words, we must ask what we are
lacking in our lives and what we are missing. We must look deep into our
hearts and see what is making us feel empty. Is it because we lack a deep
prayer life? Or is it because we do not have love and generosity in our
hearts? Many of us, because of our self-centeredness and inward looking
attitude, fail to feel with the poor and the suffering. A heart that has
turned cold towards the sufferings of others will not be able to share the joy
of God, which is that of giving. The more one gives, the greater is the
joy! Isn’t Christmas a celebration of the Great Giving of the Father, the
Gift of Himself in His only begotten Son?
Thirdly,
we are told to “let every cliff become a plain, and the ridges a
valley.” In other words, we must avoid the occasion of sin so that we
do not allow ourselves to be tempted and fall off the cliff. We would
never have fallen into sin and regrets if only we were more alert to the ways
of Satan and the weaknesses of our hearts. We allow ourselves to be in
situations where the temptation is great. When we put the Lord to the
test, we cannot but allow the Devil to tempt us to sin. So it is better
to know our limitations and be cautious rather than to take risks when it comes
to exposing ourselves to the snare of sin.
Finally,
we must reflect on the emptiness and shortness of life. Realizing
that life is transitory, we will take this life seriously as a preparation for
the life that is to come, or better still, to prepare for the Second Coming of
the Lord. As Isaiah says, “A voice commands: ‘Cry!’ and I answered, ‘What
shall I cry?’ ‘All flesh is grass and its beauty like the wild flowers. The
grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on them. (The
grass is without doubt the people.) The grass withers, the flower fades, but
the word of our God remains for ever.” Only those who live by the Word of
God will remain in Him for He lives in those who abide in Him. The Word of God
reveals to us what is eternal and everlasting.
However,
the call to live an authentic life is not for us to simply rely on our own
strength to free ourselves from bondage to sin and attachment. He will
supply us the grace and power, for Isaiah says, “Here is the Lord coming
with power, his arm subduing all things to him. The prize of his victory is with
him, his trophies all go before him. He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,
gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to
their rest the mother ewes.”
Jesus in His incarnation
comes to be with us at
Christmas. He has come to show us the way and give us the strength.
We take courage that one of us, Jesus, has conquered sin through the power of
the Holy Spirit. We too, by virtue of our baptism, share in
Christ’s victory over sin. The battle against sin and evil can only be won by
God’s grace given to us in the blood of Christ’s death on the cross. We
must turn to Christ, especially in the Word and the Eucharist, to find strength
to resist sin and all temptations to evil and selfishness.
And the truth is that the moment
we give up sin, there is freedom, peace and joy. This is what Isaiah
says, “then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all mankind shall see
it; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Yes, as the master once told
his disciples when asked how one could be enlightened, his response was, “when
the disciple is ready, the master will appear.” Indeed, when we are
ready, when we are at peace with ourselves, then Christ will reign in us
because we have given up sin.
Hence, we no longer have to
feel enslaved. We must shout for joy in expectation of Christ who
comes to liberate us from sin. As Isaiah says, “Go up on a high mountain,
joyful messenger to Zion. Shout with a loud voice, joyful messenger to
Jerusalem. Shout without fear, say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your
God.’” So long as we are conscious that God is with us and we are
with Him, then no fear can drive us to the slavery of sin, since the cause of
slavery is fear. Without fear, we can live a liberated life, trusting in
His Divine providence, being generous with our time and resources with those
whom the Lord sends to us so that we can share His joy of loving and giving.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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