20141223 THE LAST APPEAL
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Malachi
3:1-4,23-24 ©
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The Lord God says
this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the
Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the
covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts.
Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when
he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will
take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and
refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the
Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be
welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old.
Know that
I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and
terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and
the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land
with a curse.
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Psalm
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Psalm
24:4-5,8-9,10,14 ©
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Stand erect, hold
your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
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.
Stand erect, hold
your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
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.
Stand erect, hold
your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
His ways are
faithfulness and love
for those
who keep his covenant and law.
The Lord’s friendship
is for those who revere him;
to them
he reveals his covenant.
Stand erect, hold
your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
King of the peoples
and
cornerstone of the Church,
come and save man,
whom you
made from the dust of the earth.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 1:57-66 ©
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The time came for
Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her
neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness,
they shared her joy.
Now
on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call
him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is
to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that
name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The
father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were
all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and
praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was
talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it
treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they
wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
THE
LAST APPEAL
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: MALACHI 3: 1-4. 23-24; LUKE 1:57-66
We are
at the threshold of the birthday of Christ. As the response to the
responsorial psalm says, “Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is
near at hand.” Yes, the Lord, the Prince of Peace and King of Kings
is coming. He comes to liberate us and give us peace, joy and
freedom. He comes to be born in our hearts, for that is how He
reigns in our lives. Christmas is truly a day of peace because Christ is
dwelling in our hearts. But are we ready to welcome the Lord? Do we
want Jesus to be our Prince of Peace and our King? Unless we desire Him
to rule our hearts and minds, He will not impose His love on us. How can
Christ come unless our hearts are ready and purified? “Who will be able
to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For
his is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat
as the refiner and the purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine
them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as
it should be made.”
In the
light of this need to be available to Him, the liturgy brings to our
attention the message of the two precursors of the Lord. The Church
is making one last attempt to get us prepared for the birth of Christ by
focusing our minds on the Prophet Malachi and John the Baptist. Since the
5th century before Christ, prophecy was silent. Before that
happened, the Prophet Malachi gave hope to the people that before the Lord
comes, He will send them Elijah to prepare the way. “Know that I am going
to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and terrible
day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts
of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a
curse.” Elijah will prepare the hearts of the people to receive the
Lord. He will bring them to repentance. He will make them
ready to welcome the Lord.
Of
course, John the Baptist was supposedly the New Elijah. Other than
him, there is no other Elijah. He came precisely to prepare the way for
the Lord. He knew that he was only the messenger of the Lord. He
came to point out to us that Jesus is the Lamb of God. He knew he was not
the Word but only the voice, not the bridegroom but only a friend of the bridegroom,
not the master but only a servant. That he is the New Elijah is not only
a truth confirmed by Jesus Himself, but already in the gospel we read how when
he was circumcised, “the father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name
is John’. And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech
returned and he spoke and praised God.” It was as if prophecy, which was
silent since the last of the Prophet Malachi, is now revived again in the
person of John the Baptist. It was as if the whole world was waiting for
John the Baptist to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. And
indeed, this was the expectation and excitement of the people when we read,
“all their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about
throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it
in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And
indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.”
How then can we prepare
our hearts to welcome the Lord? We must respond to the invitation of John the Baptist to
repent. Have we made room for the Lord? Are our hearts pure and
welcoming for Him to rest in us like the manger in Bethlehem? The
condition to welcome the Lord requires that we give up our sins. We call
to mind the words of Isaiah cited by John the Baptist, “In the desert prepare
the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our
God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.” (Isa 40:3-5)
Have we straightened our
lives yet? Have
we sought some consistency in our lives, in what we believe and what we do?
Have we forgiven those who have hurt us? Have we tried to seek
reconciliation where possible? Have we made peace with God? Have we
celebrated the sacrament of reconciliation? Until we have availed
ourselves of the opportunities and graces given to us to level the mountain of
pride in our lives, fill the valley of lust and anger with love, and make a
straight path for the Lord to enter into our hearts, then Christmas may be near
but the spirit of Christmas is as far as the sky is from the earth. The
psalmist underscores this when he said, “Good and upright is the Lord; thus he
shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble
his way. All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy toward those who
keep his covenant and his decrees. The friendship of the Lord is with those who
fear him, and his covenant, for their instruction.”
Yes, Christ is so near
to those who wish to receive Him. In fact, as the Prophet Malachi
wrote, “And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the
angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the
Lord of hosts.” This is how near the Lord is. He is just waiting for us
to open the doors of our hearts. His coming brings us joy, not
fear. If He brings fear, it is only to those whose hearts refuse to bend
to His will. His coming is so near.
So let us renew our
hope, like the Prophet Malachi did for his people. When the people returned to
their old way of life soon after their return from exile and the temple had
been rebuilt, the prophet urged them to amend their ways and return to the
Lord. All of us too need renewal in our spiritual life, regardless
whether we are priests, laity, active or nominal Catholics. We need to
renew our love for the Lord, or rather, renew His love for us. We must be
like John the Baptist and take time out to meditate on the love of God for us
in sending us His Son. Unless we come to appreciate the graciousness of
God as Zechariah and Elizabeth did, we cannot rejoice at His coming. In
the gospel we read, “The time came for Elizabeth to have her child and she gave
birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had
shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.” And then on the day
of circumcision when “they were going to call him Zachariah after his father,
but his mother spoke up.’No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’” This
name was confirmed by Zechariah when he “asked for a writing-tablet and wrote,
‘His name is John’.”
The name, “John” simply
means that “God is gracious.” Indeed, God is truly gracious.
It was by grace that Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist. It was by
grace that a virgin conceived Jesus, the Messiah. It was by grace
that John the Baptist was given to the Jews to prepare them for the Messiah by
giving them the “knowledge of salvation” (Lk 1:77). His birth spelt
greater things to come. Everything is by grace. God would do great
things for His people. That God is gracious in giving us His only Son at
Christmas, should give us great rejoicing and awe, like the people then were
awed when they remarked, “What will this child turn out to be?”
And the evangelist gave the
footnote, “And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.” Just as
the Lord was with John the Baptist, He will also be with us in our trials and
struggles in holiness. But we must allow His grace to work in our lives
by being available to the Lord in the silence of our hearts, in prayer and in
reflection on the Word of God. If we want the Lord to be born in our
hearts this Christmas, then like Mary, let us conceive Him in our hearts by
hearing the Word of God and putting it into practice. So like John the
Baptist, let us be precursors of the Lord, ushering Him with our lives,
glorifying Him in all that we do and say; and also sharing the gifts of love
with others, whether it is by giving gifts or our time, resources and our very
presence. As we give ourselves to others like John the Baptist, the hand
of the Lord would also be with us to help us give them the greatest of all
gifts, namely, the gift of Jesus Himself. This is the Christmas gift that
we endeavour to give to all those whom we meet at Christmas, whether in merry
making, in giving gifts or in worship.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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