20141215
JESUS AS THE STAR THAT SHINES AMONG MEN
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Numbers
24:2-7,15-17 ©
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Raising his eyes
Balaam saw Israel, encamped by tribes; the spirit of God came on him and he
declaimed his poem. He said:
‘The oracle of Balaam
son of Beor,
the oracle of the man
with far-seeing eyes,
the oracle of one who
hears the word of God.
He sees what Shaddai
makes him see,
receives the divine
answer, and his eyes are opened.
How fair are your
tents, O Jacob!
How fair your
dwellings, Israel!
Like valleys that
stretch afar,
like gardens by the
banks of a river,
like aloes planted by
the Lord,
like cedars beside
the waters!
A hero arises from
their stock,
he reigns over
countless peoples.
His king is greater
than Agag,
his majesty is
exalted.’
Then Balaam declaimed
his poem again. He said:
‘The oracle of Balaam
son of Beor,
the oracle of the man
with far-seeing eyes,
the oracle of one who
hears the word of God,
of one who knows the
knowledge of the Most High.
He sees what Shaddai
makes him see,
receives the divine
answer, and his eyes are opened.
I see him – but
not in the present,
I behold him –
but not close at hand:
a star from Jacob
takes the leadership,
a sceptre arises from
Israel.’
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Psalm
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Psalm 24:4-6,7-9
©
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Lord, make me know
your ways.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
Lord,
teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your
truth, and teach me:
for you
are God my saviour.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
In you I hope all day
long
because
of your goodness, O Lord.
Remember your mercy,
Lord,
and the
love you have shown from of old.
Do not remember the
sins of my youth.
In your
love remember me.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
The Lord is good and
upright.
He shows
the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble
in the right path,
He
teaches his way to the poor.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord will come,
go out to meet him.
Great is his
beginning and his reign will have no end.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Ps84:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let us see, O Lord,
your mercy
and give us your
saving help.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 21:23-27
©
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Jesus
had gone into the Temple and was teaching, when the chief priests and the
elders of the people came to him and said, ‘What authority have you for acting
like this? And who gave you this authority?’ ‘And I’ replied Jesus ‘will ask
you a question, only one; if you tell me the answer to it, I will then tell you
my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: where did it come from:
heaven or man?’ And they argued it out this way among themselves, ‘If we say
from heaven, he will retort, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?”; but if
we say from man, we have the people to fear, for they all hold that John was a
prophet.’ So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’ And he retorted, ‘Nor
will I tell you my authority for acting like this.’
JESUS
AS THE STAR THAT SHINES AMONG MEN
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: NUM 24:2-7, 15-17; MT 21:23-27
“The
chief priests and the elders of the people came to him and said, ‘What
authority have you for acting like this? And who gave you this authority?‘”
This question is certainly valid, for Jesus was apparently acting with
authority, both in His teaching and His actions, eating and drinking with
sinners, driving the merchants from the temple, teaching in a way that seems to
put Him above the Law, the Prophets and the religious institutions of His
day. In eating and drinking with sinners, Jesus was reconciling sinners
with God. In purifying the Temple of commercialism, He was bringing about
religious reform of the Temple, which was serving the priests and depriving the
poor of true worship of God. By teaching with authority, He put Himself
on the level of the authority of God, as He cited no scriptures but on the
authority of His Word.
We too
could be asking the same question with regard to the person of Jesus. Do
we know what authority Jesus was acting from? The truth is that His
authority came from no one but His Father alone. Jesus taught with authority
because of His total identification with the Father, not just in knowing and
willing but in His entire being. He knew He was the Son of the
Father. His authority therefore was of a divine authority. He
was more than the prophets, who only heard the Word of God, but He was the Word
of God in person. Hence, in all His actions and teachings, He was acting
on behalf of His Father. In word and action, He was claiming to be
what the Father is.
Indeed,
He is the fulfillment of the prophecies of Balaam in today’s first reading.
The prophet, against his original intention, which was to curse Israel, was
impelled to speak in favour of Israel and pronounce his blessings on them as
was inspired by the Spirit of God. He prophesied the coming of the
messiah-king from the East, who would be a king greater than any other
kings. He would be the star that would one day rise from the East.
Of course from hindsight we know that the star was not Saul or David but it
would be Christ, the Messiah. Not surprisingly, Matthew would refer to
this incident in his story of the magi when they followed the star rising from
the East which rested at Bethlehem where the infant baby Jesus was.
What was Balaam’s
authority to make such a prophecy to the dismay of Balak, a Jordanian king who sought him to
cast curses on the tribes of Israel who were about to cross his territory and
enter the Promised Land? It came from his hearing of the Word and the
resultant obedience to the Word of God made possible by the Holy Spirit.
Indeed, Balaam originally gave two oracles in favour of Israel’s salvation and
eventual victory, but he could not resist the divine authority that overpowered
him, for in the face of God’s authority, he knew he had to submit and put aside
his vested interests.
The question that is left
to be answered is whether we believe in the authority of Jesus. If
we do not, is it because we are not sure about Jesus’ identity as the Messiah,
or is it because of our refusal to acknowledge Him? We know that to
recognize Jesus as the authority of God, like the Pharisees and the Scribes, we
would have to change our status quo and lifestyle.
Like them, many of us make
excuses for not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. The Jews were envious of
Jesus because they felt He was usurping their authority to bring reform to the
temple, which they regarded as their responsibility. So when they
questioned Jesus about His identity and therefore the source of His authority,
Jesus did not give them a direct response. He knew that they were
not sincere in wanting to know the origin of His authority, just as in the case
of John the Baptist. They too refused to accept John the Baptist’s
authority to teach, but at the same time they were unable to reject him
outrightly and publicly, because of the fear of losing popularity with the
people who recognized the authority of John as a prophet. As a consequence,
they tolerated John the Baptist, but did not value the baptism of repentance
that he preached.
However, to those of us
who accept His Divine authority, St John would tell us in his gospel, we will
become the children of God. To accept His authority is to change and
live according to what the psalmist instructs us in Psalm 25, since the ways of
the Lord are truth and love. To the Lord who is the Word, we must seek to
understand the truth and the love of God. We must meditate on the
scriptures each day and seek the Lord saying, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.” Truly,
“Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the
humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way.” Not only will we
discover the way to walk the path of justice, He will also show us the path of
compassion in our dealings with our brothers and sisters, since He will in the
first place show us His compassion, kindness and goodness.
Yes, as we imbibe in the
words of Jesus and live in His Spirit, we too will be able to act with
authority in whatever we do. We will be alert to His voice speaking
in us, discerning good from evil, truth from falsehood, justice from strict
legalism; compassion from weakness. We will have no fear, like Jesus, in
speaking the truth and proclaiming Him to others. We will have the
courage like John the Baptist, Balaam and Jesus to proclaim the truth about God
to others. Conscious of His Holy Spirit in us, like the prophet
Balaam, we too will act in the Holy Spirit, especially in moments of temptation
and trials.
So as we begin the third
week of Advent and drawing so close to the feast of Christmas, let us renew
our faith in Christ as our Messiah, and as the star foretold by Balaam that
would rise from the East “a star from Jacob takes the leadership, a sceptre
arises from Israel.” Christ is our king, not just of Israel, but of the
whole world. He is the saviour of the whole of humanity because through
Him, our shining star, we are brought the light of God that enlightens all
people of goodwill. Only when we reaffirm our faith in Him and walk
the ways He has shown us, can we arrive at Bethlehem on Christmas night,
recognizing with joy the Christ in our midst at home, in our friends, our
enemies, the poor and the marginalized. We can then join the angels and
sing, “Glory to God in the Highest and peace on earth to men of goodwill!”
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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