20150202 CONSECRATING OUR LIVES FOR THE SERVICE OF GOD
Readings at Mass
|
First reading
|
Malachi 3:1-4 ©
|
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.
|
Psalm
|
Psalm 23:7-10 ©
|
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
O gates, lift high
your heads;
grow
higher, ancient doors.
Let him
enter, the king of glory!
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Who is the king of
glory?
The Lord,
the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord,
the valiant in war.
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
O gates, lift high
your heads;
grow
higher, ancient doors.
Let him
enter, the king of glory!
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Who is he, the king
of glory?
He, the
Lord of armies,
he is the
king of glory.
Who is the king of
glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
|
Second reading
|
Hebrews 2:14-18 ©
|
Since all the
children share the same blood and flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so
that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power
over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives
by the fear of death. For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he
took to himself descent from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this
way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and
trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That
is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others
who are tempted.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Lk2:32
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The light to
enlighten the Gentiles
and give glory to
Israel, your people.
Alleluia!
EITHER:
|
Gospel
|
Luke 2:22-40 ©
|
When the day came for
them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took
him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands
written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to
the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is
said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Now in
Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he
looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had
been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he
had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the
Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the
Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can
let your servant go in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have
seen the salvation
which you have
prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten
the pagans
and the glory of your
people Israel.’
As the child’s father
and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him,
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is
destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a
sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too –
so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’
There was
a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was
well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven
years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left
the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just
at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who
looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they
had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to
their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was
filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
OR:
|
Alternative
Gospel
|
Luke 2:22-32 ©
|
When the day came for
them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took
him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord – observing what stands
written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to
the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is
said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now in
Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he
looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had
been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he
had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the
Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the
Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can
let your servant go in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have
seen the salvation
which you have
prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten
the pagans
and
the glory of your people Israel.’
CONSECRATING
OUR LIVES FOR THE SERVICE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: MAL 3:1-4; HEB 2:14-18; LK 2:22-40
Forty
days after Christmas, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of
the Lord which marks the close of Christmastide. What is the common
theme between Christmas and the Feast of the Presentation? It is the
theme of light.
Christmas
is a celebration of the festival of light. Christ at His birth is
recognized as the Light that has come to enlighten all men. He has
come to bring light to those who walk in the shadow of death. He has come
to offer hope to all peoples. As Simeon prophesied, “My eyes have seen
the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to
enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel.” In the same
vein, in the second reading, the author says that “By his death he could take
away all the power of the devil, who had power over death and set free all
those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.”
However,
on the Feast of the Presentation, we focus on Jesus as the Light of
glory of the chosen people of God, as Simeon prophesied. Jesus’ presentation in
the Temple of Jerusalem is a symbolic act of Jesus’ entry into the Temple of
God, fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi. Christ is now seen as the New
Temple of God. He has come to take possession of the Temple.
But He is not simply the temple of God, for He makes us all who are united in
Him the Temple of God where His Spirit lives in the Christian community.
He is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi when God will purify the
people of God so that their offering would be acceptable. Our sacrifice
is made perfect since the sacrifice we offer is that of Jesus Himself. As
Christians, we are privileged to have known Christ. By virtue of our
baptism, we have been incorporated into the Body of Christ.
But
with this privilege, we have a responsibility as well. We are now His
messengers. Like John the Baptist, we are called to prepare the way
for the Lord. Many people have yet to come and recognize Christ as the
Light of their lives. For this reason, the Lord is inviting us to
proclaim Him as the Light of mankind. This also explains why today is
also called candlemas. On this day, we have the blessing of candles so
that we will be able to proclaim publicly that Jesus is the Light of the
world. This is the same candle which we held at our baptism when we were
given a new birth. But today, we are called to commit our life to the Lord and
be His emissaries in the world.
The
liturgy invites us to be like Jesus in the way He consecrated His whole life
and work to the Father. Indeed, the letter to Hebrews tells us that
the Eternal Word took flesh so that “He should in this way become completely
like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high
priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is because he has
himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are
tempted.” We are called to be exemplars in Christian living so that
others will find hope and strength. Our consecration to God is manifested
by a lifestyle different from that of the world.
Secondly,
the gospel reminds us that we must be signs of contradiction in the
positive sense in the world. The world promotes consumerism and
materialism, and an extreme form of individualism resulting in
relativism. All the more, it is necessary that we do not allow ourselves
to unconsciously imbibe the values of the world.
A
consecrated life also requires us to be ready to face rejection and accept
failures in our ministry. Like Jesus, in living out the demands of
the gospel, especially the proclamation of truth and justice, we will always
make ourselves unpopular. Yes, like Mary, we will face the sword piercing
our hearts.
How can
this be possible? Today, we must realize that unless we are prayerful
and focused like Simeon and Anna, we will not be able to withstand the
onslaught of the world. We have the shinning example of Simeon who waited
for the Lord. He lived an upright and devout life. Hence, he was
spiritually sensitive enough to recognize the Christ when Jesus was brought to
the Temple by His parents.
But it
is not sufficient to pray, we must also fast. This was what Anna
did. She “Never left the temple, serving God night and day with fasting
and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she
spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of
Jerusalem.” Only fasting and prayer can help us to be sensitive to the
promptings of the Spirit. Prayer alone is useless, unless it is
accompanied by discipline in our passions, which fasting seeks to do.
Without disciplining our passions and desires, we cannot progress in our prayer
life.
Secondly,
like Jesus who went back to Nazareth and grew in maturity and wisdom, we
too must always be humble and be ready to grow as well. As we grow in
age, wisdom and grace, we will find ourselves ready to face our daily
challenges.
On this
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, let us surrender our entire lives to
the Lord so that He can make great use of us. Life is a gift from God
and the perfect way to express our gratitude is to give our lives to Him for
His service and the service of His people. By giving ourselves to God as
Jesus did, we will also find life for ourselves.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No comments:
Post a Comment