PROCLAIMING THE SALVATION OF OUR GOD

20151206 PROCLAIMING THE SALVATION OF OUR GOD

Readings at Mass

First reading

Baruch 5:1-9 ©

Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress,

put on the beauty of the glory of God for ever,

wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you,

put the diadem of the glory of the Eternal on your head:

since God means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven,

since the name God gives you for ever will be,

‘Peace through integrity, and honour through devotedness.’

Arise, Jerusalem, stand on the heights

and turn your eyes to the east:

see your sons reassembled from west and east

at the command of the Holy One, jubilant that God has remembered them.

Though they left you on foot,

with enemies for an escort,

now God brings them back to you

like royal princes carried back in glory.

For God has decreed the flattening

of each high mountain, of the everlasting hills,

the filling of the valleys to make the ground level

so that Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God.

And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade

for Israel at the command of God;

for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory

with his mercy and integrity for escort.

Psalm

Psalm 125:1-6 ©

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,

  it seemed like a dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

  on our lips there were songs.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels

  the Lord worked for them!’

What marvels the Lord worked for us!

  Indeed we were glad.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage

  as streams in dry land.

Those who are sowing in tears

  will sing when they reap.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

They go out, they go out, full of tears,

  carrying seed for the sowing:

they come back, they come back, full of song,

  carrying their sheaves.

What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.

Second reading

Philippians 1:4-6,8-11 ©

Every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present. I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes; and God knows how much I miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus loves you. My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.

Gospel Acclamation

Lk3:4,6

Alleluia, alleluia!

Prepare a way for the Lord,

make his paths straight,

and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 3:1-6 ©

In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrach of Abilene, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice cries in the wilderness:

Prepare a way for the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley will be filled in,

every mountain and hill be laid low,

winding ways will be straightened

and rough roads made smooth.

And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.

PROCLAIMING THE SALVATION OF OUR GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Baruch 5:1-9; Ps 125:1-6; Phil 1:4-6.8-11; Luke 3:1-6

The first reading from Baruch speaks of the hope of the Israelites who were living in exile from their homeland.  It is always sad for one to leave his homeland, for it is in our homeland that we feel at home, that we belong and accepted.

Ironically, for many of us, although we may have been born and bred here, and living with our people, we do not feel at home.  Why?  Because of the lack of love and acceptance in family life, in the office and even in the Christian community we belong to.  Very often, parents are not on talking terms and may even be violent with each other.  Some are divorced or separated.  The children not only feel abandoned but suffer the trauma of seeing their loved ones at odds with each other. It is hard on them to live in such a family, uncertain of their future.

When there is no love and no peace at home, then it is only natural that we look to our friends.  Sadly, those who are so desperate for love and understanding often rush into relationships and physical intimacy.  Wounded people seeking refuge in one another, what we can expect? The blind leading the blind will both fall into the ditch!  So history repeats itself.   That is why history is full of broken and wounded people suffering from failure in relationships.  Desperate people seeking desperately for true love will only find themselves cheated again and again, used and abused.  This is the tragedy of humanity.

The truth is that success in career, money, wealth and status cannot bring real happiness.  Life is more than just having a successful career or having plenty of money.  Even if we could achieve all these, quite often at the expense of relationships, our life will be empty and hollow.  Without love and a home where we are loved unconditionally and accepted, we can never find happiness in life.  But this is not the only reason for our unhappiness and the lack of joy in our lives.

At the root of it all is our own sins.  We are in bondage only because of our sins, like the Israelites.  This is what the prophet, John the Baptist, is saying.  “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, winding ways will be straightened and rough roads made smooth. And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.”   We are not able to rejoice or be happy and see the salvation of God because our sins block us from God’s peace, love and joy.

We are not happy because our paths are winding.  We are not walking straight, that is, there is a lack of integrity in our lives.  We are living a double life.  We profess one thing but do another.  We are married but we have a mistress.  We are single but live as if we were married.  We are not honest in our dealings.  We lie, cheat and manipulate our friends and colleagues for our selfish interests, whether in relationships, in money or in work.  Such a person cannot walk straight nor stand upright before God and the rest of the world. He hides himself in shame for fear of being discovered. 

But it could also be because of our pride. These are the mountains and hills that the prophet speaks about.  We are not willing and humble enough to learn and be docile to the Word of God or our elders.  We think we know everything and that we are always right.  We are egoistic and want to force our views on others.  We want to control people’s lives as if our lives are so perfect.  We want people to submit to us, to obey us, but we obey no one, not even God!  Pride is the cause of many arguments, and of cause division and disharmony.  When a person listens to no one and always wants to win in everything, such a person is  not only impossible to live with or work with, but he will destroy himself.  Pride is the main reason why we never say “sorry” and ask forgiveness when we hurt others; or to forgive those who have hurt us.  How can a proud person be happy and joyful?  He is the cause of pain to everyone else.  So he cannot expect to be happy when people around him are full of resentment and anger.

Loss of happiness comes also from low self-esteem.  These are the valleys of life.  Many of us have a negative view of ourselves.  We suffer from low self-esteem.  We feel that people do not care for us.  We feel that we are not good enough, not pretty or handsome enough, not intelligent enough, etc.  We are not happy with our looks and height, etc.  Some of us who have been cheated or experienced failure in life again and again, in our studies, work or relationships, have given up on ourselves.  Instead of meeting the challenges, we hide in our cocoon as we have no courage and strength to face the world.  Such people are in the valley, walking and living in the shadow of death, without hope, meaning and purpose.

If these are the bondages that cause you to be in exile, today, the scripture readings give us hope.  Like the Israelites, God is promising us that we will be restored to our glory and dignity again.  The prophet said, “Arise, Jerusalem, stand on the heights and turn your eyes to the east.”   God will bring us back to our homeland, restore our dignity, give us meaning and purpose in life again.  Indeed, He “has decreed the flattening of each high mountain, of the everlasting hills, the filling of the valleys to make the ground level so that Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God.”

How is this possible?  Christ is our Savior.  He is the One who will lead us out of our exile. In Jesus we will find our hope fulfilled and our lives restored.   Jesus, who became man for us, shows us how we should live our lives.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He is the Alpha and Omega.  In Jesus we come to understand who we are, that we are children of God, and that His Father is also ours.  Through Jesus, we discover that authentic living is giving, serving and loving others without counting the cost.  It is in the giving of self, the sacrifice of one’s interests for others that we find life.   He shows us the way to peace by resigning ourselves to walk in truth and love, doing the will of God.   He shows us that restoration comes from forgiveness of our enemies so that we can be set free to love and to experience His love.  Most of all, in Jesus, we know that regardless of what happens to us, death is never final but life everlasting.   Love triumphs at the end of the day and so we must persevere in loving and forgiving those whom we find so difficult to love. We must be patient in hope and charity, never giving up on our loved ones, our spouse who has strayed, our willful, disobedient and wanton children.  We need to trust in the power of God’s grace and the resurrection that Christ has won for us, His victory over sin and death.

How could it be so for us today?  We need to answer the call to repentance.  We read, “He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”  When we take the courage to examine our conscience and go for a sincere and contrite Sacrament of Reconciliation; we receive immediate healing of mind and heart.   The burden of conscience is taken away. The guilt is released and we feel new and light again.   For some, when they decide to forgive from their hearts those who have hurt them, they experience freedom and joy.   The joy of reunion and of unity is worth humbling ourselves in reconciliation.  For others still, when they reach out to others in love and service especially to the poor, they find a joy that the world cannot give.  Instead of thinking about themselves, they think of others and serve them. By so doing, they see the face of Christ in them.  Most of all, great joy and freedom comes when we start worshipping the Lord in praise and thanksgiving, when we pray the Word of God for wisdom and strength, when we receive Him in the Eucharist, and when we make time for Him in the intimacy of prayer.  These are the moments that give us deep and lasting joy and peace, incomparable to the worldly joys of success and sensual pleasures.

So today, let us not tarry any longer.  We must pray and decide to open our hearts to the Lord.  Like the Israelites, we must pray fervently, “Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land.”   When we act on what we pray, the marvellous joy and freedom of God is ours, as the prophet says, “Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress, put on the beauty of the glory of God for ever, wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you.”

Having received this peace, this Good News of salvation, we must now impart to others.  This is what St Paul urged the Christians, “I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes.”   We must continue the good work that the Lord has begun in us and allow Him to bring it to completion.  This must go together with an increasing knowledge of the Lord so that we can discern His will for us and His people.  The best testimony to the Lord is that we live a life of integrity and a blameless life.  With a clear and clean conscience, we will experience a peace and joy that the world cannot give.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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