FAITH IN THE LORD’S COMING THROUGH CONVERSION

20151223 FAITH IN THE LORD’S COMING THROUGH CONVERSION

Readings at Mass

Colour: Purple.

First reading

Malachi 3:1-4,23-24 ©

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.

Psalm

Psalm 24:4-5,8-9,10,14 ©

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.

Gospel Acclamation

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!

Gospel

Luke 1:57-66 ©

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.

FAITH IN THE LORD’S COMING THROUGH CONVERSION

SCRIPTURE READINGS: MALACHI 3:1-4,23-24; LUKE 1:57-66

As we approach nearer to Christmas, the liturgy makes a last attempt to reach those who have not opened their hearts to receive Jesus yet.  Today, the liturgy tells us that Elijah and John the Baptist were sent to urge us to repent.

What is the basis for this invitation? Firstly, from the first reading, Prophet Malachi assures us that the Lord is coming.  Indeed he said, “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 temple of course is not simply the Temple of Jerusalem.  For we know that in the New Testament, the Temple is first and foremost a reference to Christ.   Jesus is the New Covenant and the New Temple.  Of course, only from the teaching of Jesus did the Jews realize that the house that Christ has come to build is not so much a kingdom in terms of earthly power and domain, but it is a spiritual kingdom.  Hence, the central message of Jesus is the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, so that the reign of God will rule in all.

Now what will the coming of God’s Kingdom do in our lives?  It will bring about a total transformation.  If we accept the Kingdom, that is the rule of Christ, He will transform our temples.  This is what the prophet said, “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.”  So the purpose of Jesus’ coming is to purify our hearts so that we can truly love and surrender ourselves to the Lord.  

This means that with Christ’s coming, the reconciliation between God and man is complete.  Man can once again offer worthy sacrifices because he is united with God in Christ.  With Christ in his heart, the New Temple of God, that is the Church and each individual as the new temple of the Holy Spirit, become truly God’s dwelling place.  This was the case of John the Baptist, for we read that because the hand of the Lord was with him, he could preach the Word of God powerfully for the conversion of his people.  For this reason, the Church is fundamentally called to be a sign and instrument of love and unity for the human race.

However, this can happen only if we surrender in faith.  We are called to have the same faith of Zechariah.  For doubting the power of the Lord to perform wonders, he was silenced.  Indeed, those of us who have never surrendered to the power of God in our lives and only depend on our human strength find it difficult to praise God because we do not experience the power of His resurrection.  So like Zechariah, we cannot sing praises and worship Him.  But his speech returned the moment he submitted in obedience and confirmed with Elizabeth that his son would be called “John”.

Truly, God will work wonders for us in our lives just as he did for Zechariah and Elizabeth if we surrender ourselves to Him.  The miraculous birth of John the Baptist is but an anticipation of the greater miracle that is about to take place, namely, the birth of Christ.  Indeed, if the name of John means the Gift of God, then the greater gift is yet to come.  Christ the Son of God is not simply a gift of something extraneous to Him.  Christ is the Gift of God in person for He is the Emmanuel, the Incarnated One!  If the birth of John the Baptist gave so much hope to the people of Israel as we will read in the gospel tomorrow when we hear the Canticle of Zechariah, how much more joy would the birth of the Messiah bring!.  If the neighbours and friends of Zechariah “were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea” and “All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts, and wondered “What will this child turn out to be?”, then surely we must even be filled with greater awe, reverence and wonder at the birth of the Son of God.

So what must we do to experience such great wonders of the Lord that are being promised to us?  Faith is required to receive this gift from God.  This faith must be expressed in repentance, a change of heart leading to a change of life.  Only then can the Lord come into our hearts.

We need to repent.  The task of Elijah and John the Baptist is to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Messiah.  We must take the exhortation to repent seriously if Christ were to be born in our hearts at Christmas, unlike those in Bethlehem – they had no room for Him.  Ironically, only the poor, the humble and lowly shepherds could recognize the Messiah when He came because they were open to the Good News.  Thus, God sent the angels to announce to them when the Child was born.

The gospel will underscore this fundamental disposition again in the canticle of Zechariah.  It is true that God has come to visit His people once again.  “He has come to their rescue and he has raised up for us a power for salvation in the House of his servant David.”  With His coming, “he would grant us, free from fear, to be delivered from the hands of our enemies, to serve him in holiness and virtue in his presence, all our days.”

However, we must listen to John the Baptist for he has come to prepare the way for Him.  We must listen and have faith in his message of repentance.  His role was to give us “the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins; this by the tender mercy of our God who from on high will bring the rising Sun to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Unless we walk in the light in Christ, we can never come out of our darkness, misery and hell.  But if we respond generously and reconcile ourselves with the Lord especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and keep watch in prayer, then we will certainly find light to walk in the way of peace.  All we need to say is “Yes, I believe.  I surrender.”  This faith is expressed in our desire to repent.

Yes, only those with pure hearts can truly make offerings to the Lord, as Malachi also said, “And then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the days of old.”  Indeed, what the Lord wants of us is not sacrifice but a heart of love and compassion.  The role of Elijah and that of John the Baptist is to reconcile us with each other.  Yes, “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.”  Without reconciliation with our loved ones, there can be no peace and joy at Christmas.  Yes, as the responsorial psalm tells us, we must know His ways and walk in His path.  “The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him; to them he reveals his covenant.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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