20141214
PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF JOY TO
ALL
Readings at Mass
|
First reading
|
|
Isaiah
61:1-2,10-11 ©
|
The spirit of the
Lord has been given to me,
for the Lord has
anointed me.
He has sent me to
bring good news to the poor,
to bind up hearts
that are broken;
to proclaim liberty
to captives,
freedom to those in
prison;
to proclaim a year of
favour from the Lord.
‘I exult for joy in
the Lord,
my soul rejoices in
my God,
for he has clothed me
in the garments of salvation,
he has wrapped me in
the cloak of integrity,
like a bridegroom
wearing his wreath,
like a bride adorned
in her jewels.
‘For as the earth
makes fresh things grow,
as a garden makes
seeds spring up,
so will the Lord make
both integrity and praise
spring up in the
sight of the nations.’
|
Canticle
|
|
Luke
1:46-50,53-54 ©
|
My soul rejoices
in my God.
My soul glorifies the
Lord,
my spirit rejoices in
God, my Saviour.
He looks on his
servant in her nothingness;
henceforth all ages
will call me blessed.
My soul rejoices
in my God.
The Almighty works
marvels for me.
Holy his name!
His mercy is from age
to age,
on those who fear
him.
My soul rejoices
in my God.
He fills the starving
with good things,
sends the rich away
empty.
He protects Israel,
his servant,
remembering his
mercy.
My soul rejoices
in my God.
|
Second reading
|
|
1 Thessalonians
5:16-24 ©
|
Be happy at all
times; pray constantly; and for all things give thanks to God, because this is
what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.
Never try
to suppress the Spirit or treat the gift of prophecy with contempt; think
before you do anything – hold on to what is good and avoid every form of
evil.
May the
God of peace make you perfect and holy; and may you all be kept safe and
blameless, spirit, soul and body, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. God
has called you and he will not fail you.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Is61:1(Lk4:18)
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The spirit of the
Lord has been given to me.
He has sent me to
bring the good news to the poor.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
|
John 1:6-8,19-28
©
|
A man came, sent by
God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak
for the light,
so that everyone
might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to
speak for the light.
This is how John
appeared as a witness. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to
ask him, ‘Who are you?’ he not only declared, but he declared quite openly, ‘I
am not the Christ.’ ‘Well then,’ they asked ‘are you Elijah?’ ‘I am not’ he
said. ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are
you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say
about yourself?’ So John said, ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied:
a voice that cries in
the wilderness:
Make a straight way
for the Lord.’
Now
these men had been sent by the Pharisees, and they put this further question to
him, ‘Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not
the prophet?’ John replied, ‘I baptise with water; but there stands among
you – unknown to you – the one who is coming after me; and I am not
fit to undo his sandal-strap.’ This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the
Jordan, where John was baptising.
PROCLAIM
THE GOSPEL OF JOY TO ALL
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISA 61:1-2.10-11; 1 THESS 5:16-24; JN 1:6-8.19-28
Advent speaks of three
Comings of Christ. The
first coming is at the Incarnation and in His birth, the second coming at the
end of time when He comes in His glory as St Peter tells us in the second
reading. However, between these two comings, we have the
intermediary or existential coming of Christ. He comes to us in our daily
lives for those who are ready to receive Him. Indeed, those who have
opened their hearts to the Lord have already experienced in anticipation the
celebration of Christmas because Christ has been born in their hearts
again. Of course, at Christmas, the sentiments go beyond the individual
to a community’s experience of His presence, love, peace and joy. This is
what the celebration of Christmas offers to those who have experienced His
presence already.
In the same vein, it must
be said that those who have not yet welcomed Christ personally during this
season of Advent will, when Christmas arrives, have a superficial experience of
His love and presence through a material celebration of food, drinks,
presents and the presence of loved ones. But they would have hardly
touched the personal love of God in Christ Jesus who alone can give us lasting
peace and joy.
Hence, we rejoice for
those of us who, in the past three weeks of Advent, have been preparing
themselves spiritually through prayer and contemplation. Those
who have made time to renew their love for the Lord in their lives would
already have had a foretaste of this joy of having the Lord coming into their
lives. As a consequence, this encounter with the saving grace and love of
the Lord has brought about healing and liberation from our sins, fears and brokenness.
Indeed, the prophecy of
Isaiah is fulfilled in some ways in our lives whenever we allow the Spirit of
God to dwell in us. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of the
prophets because of His unconditional love for us. Mary, too, experienced this
love and mercy of God. She said, “The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy
his name! His mercy is from age to age, on those who fear him. He fills
the starving with good things, sends the rich away empty. He protects Israel,
his servant, remembering his mercy.”
That is why we too shout
for joy for He has entered into our lives. Like the prophet, we must
rejoice. “I
exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God, for he has clothed me in
the garments of salvation … For as the earth makes fresh things
grow, as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord make both integrity
and praise spring up in the sight of the nations.” For those who
have gone for the sacrament of reconciliation, they would have rediscovered
their lost identity as children of God. Indeed, those reconciled with the
Lord are like the bride that He has wrapped “in the cloak of integrity, like a
bridegroom wearing his wreath, like a bride adorned in her jewels.” We
can therefore say we have been made whole.
We can feel with Mary in
the responsorial psalm when she was filled with joy too at the coming of the
Messiah. That is why
this Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of Joy
because of the nearness of Christ’s coming at Christmas and the foretaste of
this joy in our hearts already for those who have given up their sins and
made room for Jesus in their hearts in prayer and in charity.
Having been blessed and
healed, what must you do with the joy you have? You must now share this
joy with others and be a witness to Christ the Light as John the Baptist did.
That was the
response of John the Baptist. “A man came, sent by God. His name
was John. He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light, so
that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, only a witness
to speak for the light.”
How can we proclaim
Christ the Light to others?
Simply by being joyful
and happy persons. This is what St Paul says, “Be happy at all times.” We must be joyful people to be
credible, not in spite but because of our problems and sufferings.
Our joy is not a fake joy. It is a joy that comes from knowing that the
Lord is with us. So long as the Lord is with us, we can be happy and
joyful at all times because we know He will look after us. And even if we
suffer, we suffer with joy because we suffer for the love of the Lord and for
those whom the Lord invites us to reach out to.
Secondly, we must be
prophetic in our words and share Jesus with others as John the Baptist did. St Paul
urges us, “Never try to suppress the Spirit or treat the gift of prophecy with
contempt.” Not only must we be joyful but we must also be positive
people. Because of Christ, we are people of Hope and hence our task is to
give hope to people. Christ is our hope in a world that is hopeless over
the future. Let the words that we speak be life-giving, encouraging and
full of hope. Our hope is a certain hope because with Christ, there is a
future for humanity. He has come to teach us how to live, love, forgive
and most of all, that there will be life after death.
Thirdly, more important
than words, we proclaim Christ by our way of life. St Paul says, “Think before you
do anything – hold on to what is good and avoid every form of evil. May the God
of peace make you perfect and holy; and may you all be kept safe and blameless,
spirit, soul and body, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has called
you and he will not fail you.” We need to live a life of
integrity. Our words and actions and our being must reflect the love of
God in us if we were to be real witnesses of the Lord. Like Christ, we
are called to bring light to a world that is living in darkness. By our
prophetic lifestyle, especially by living holy and blameless lives, we give
them hope and confidence.
When we live our lives
in this manner, with joy and freedom, then people will ask us as the people
asked John the Baptist. We read in the gospel, “When the Jews sent priests
and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ he not only declared, but
he declared quite openly, ‘I am not the Christ.’ … ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied:
a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord.’”
We, too, like John the Baptist, must take the occasion when people ask us the
reason for our joy and hope, to point them to Jesus our Messiah and Saviour.
Then, like John the
Baptist, we take the occasion to tell them about Jesus the Messiah and the
Savior and lead them to Jesus. Most of all, let them know that Jesus is the One who will send
them the Holy Spirit so that we too can share in the messianic gifts that He
was bestowed with.
What then is the secret
to being happy and joyful at all times so that we can bear witness to Jesus as
the light and the joy of our lives?
We have Mary and John
the Baptist to turn to as are our models. John was a humble man like Mary.
When given the opportunity to be called “Christ”, he refuted such a perception
by the people. He felt even unworthy to untie His sandal strap.
Instead he considered himself only as a voice, not the Word. Once
he had transmitted the Word, he disappeared and let the Word take the
stage. We, too, must therefore constantly remind ourselves that our task
is to bring Jesus to the world.
Secondly, St Paul urges
us to “Pray constantly; and for all things give thanks to God, because this is what God expects you
to do in Christ Jesus.” That was what Mary did. She was a contemplative,
always meditating on the Word of God. If John the Baptist could be the
voice that carried the Word, it was because he too spent his life in the desert
in prayer and fasting. The secret of happiness and joy is always
prayer.
Thirdly, St Paul says,
“be grateful for what we have received.” If we want to give thanks to God in all
things and live a life of hope, we must have a deep sense of gratitude.
This was the case of Mary when she sang the Magnificat. A grateful heart
receives everything with joy. When there is gratitude, everything that
comes our way is received with joy as it is seen as something that is
undeserving.
Fourthly, we must live a
blameless and holy life; a life of integrity like Mary and John the
Baptist. “Think
before you do anything – hold on to what is good and avoid every form of
evil.” The reason why we are not happy is because we live double lives.
Because of the division within us, it also affects our peace, state of mind and
most of all, it impedes our relationship with God. However, when our
conscience is clear and we live a life of integrity, we are able to focus and
live in the light because we have nothing to hide and we are true to ourselves.
Finally, joy and peace
come when we rely on the promises of God and His fidelity to us. “God has called you and he
will not fail you.” He will not fail us if we trust Him. Let us not
be afraid but take courage even when rejected. God is faithful to us as
He was with the Israelites. This was what Mary said, “He protects Israel,
his servant, remembering his mercy.” Let us follow John the Baptist in
proclaiming Christ our light and joy in and out of season. John said, “I
am, as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight
way for the Lord.”
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No comments:
Post a Comment