20161128 LIVING IN HOPE OF A NEW CREATION
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 2:1-5 ©
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The vision of Isaiah
son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In the days to come
the mountain of the
Temple of the Lord
shall tower above the
mountains
and be lifted higher
than the hills.
All the nations will
stream to it,
peoples without
number will come to it; and they will say:
‘Come,
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the
Temple of the God of Jacob
that he
may teach us his ways
so that
we may walk in his paths;
since the
Law will go out from Zion,
and the
oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.’
He will wield
authority over the nations
and adjudicate
between many peoples;
these will hammer
their swords into ploughshares,
their spears into
sickles.
Nation will not lift
sword against nation,
there will be no more
training for war.
O House of Jacob,
come,
let us walk in the
light of the Lord.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
121(122):1-2,4-5,6-9 ©
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I rejoiced when I
heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
I rejoiced when I
heard them say:
‘Let us
go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are
standing
within
your gates, O Jerusalem.
I rejoiced when I
heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
It is there that the
tribes go up,
the
tribes of the Lord.
For Israel’s law it
is,
there to
praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the
thrones of judgement
of the
house of David.
I rejoiced when I
heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
For the peace of
Jerusalem pray:
‘Peace be
to your homes!
May peace reign in
your walls,
in your
palaces, peace!’
I rejoiced when I
heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
For love of my
brethren and friends
I say:
‘Peace upon you!’
For love of the house
of the Lord
I will
ask for your good.
I rejoiced when I
heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Ps79:4
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God of hosts, bring
us back:
let your face shine
on us and we shall be saved.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 8:5-11 ©
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When
Jesus went into Capernaum a centurion came up and pleaded with him. ‘Sir,’ he
said ‘my servant is lying at home paralysed, and in great pain.’ ‘I will come
myself and cure him’ said Jesus. The centurion replied, ‘Sir, I am not worthy
to have you under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured. For
I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man:
Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this,
and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those
following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like
this. And I tell you that many will come from east and west to take their
places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.’
LIVING
IN HOPE OF A NEW CREATION
What a
positive way to begin a new liturgical year with the vision of Isaiah in
today’s first reading. He prophesied a day will come when all of
us, “peoples without number” will come to the Lord’s mountain, the place where
God dwells where we will be instructed by the Lord so that we will all come
under His Lordship and “walk in his paths.” On that day, there will be no
more wars and bloodshed but peace and unity. This grandiose vision of
Isaiah remains ours.
How is the vision being
already realized? Whenever we find ourselves growing in our spiritual
life, we know that we are scaling to the top of the Lord’s mountain to meet Him
face to face. Whenever we find peace and joy as it is for those who have
been to the mountaintop, we know that God is there in an awesome way.
Whenever we are able to reconcile conflicts and persuade warring parties to
“hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles.” Whenever we
are able to reconcile relationships in our family and in our workplace, we know
that God has made it possible. Whenever we see how the United Nations is
working to ensure that “nation will not lift sword against nation”, we know
that God is at work in a divided world. In other words, when everyone
comes under His Lordship where truth and love, justice and compassion,
forgiveness and tolerance reign, we know we are nearer to the universal peace
envisaged by the prophet Isaiah.
But this is not possible
unless the Lord comes into our lives. The season of Advent precisely
celebrates His coming and invites us to receive Him. When we speak of His
coming, we are not limiting ourselves to His first coming at Bethlehem, nor
even His Second Coming at the end of time, but also His present coming, here
and now in our daily life. Indeed, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday
and today and forever.” To the extent that we welcome the Lord Jesus into our
lives, to that extent the vision of Isaiah is fulfilled in us, even now, if not
perfectly, it surely can be felt. He has taken the initiative at
Christmas and He is still extending the same invitation. In fact, if He
had not first found us, we would not have been able to find Him. However,
He will not force Himself into our lives. So we must first desire the
Lord. The Lord cannot come into our lives unless we actively seek Him,
just like the gentiles in today’s scripture readings.
How, then, do we open our hearts
to receive the Lord? Firstly, we must realize our inadequacy. Although
the Centurion was an officer and a respectable person, yet, he was conscious of
his limitations. He knew that he was not all that powerful and therefore
he turned to Jesus for help to heal his slave. The truth is that no one
will seek the Lord earnestly unless he knows that he is incomplete and
insufficient. What is equally true is that many of us think so highly of
our intelligence and talents, our power and influence, our office and position
that we think we can do everything without God’s grace. We think we can
manage on our own. If that is the case, we will never be earnest in
seeking Him.
Secondly,
we must come to realize our sinfulness. When Jesus wanted to go to his house,
the Centurion was fully aware that gentiles are seen as sinners and His coming
would make Jesus unclean. So in humility, he said, “Sir, I am not worthy
to have you under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured.” He
knew that he was not worthy of Jesus, the holiness of God to come into his
dwelling place. If we want to prepare well for Christmas, the most
important step to take is to purify our hearts and minds through the sacrament
of reconciliation. We must start the year on a clean slate instead of
burdening ourselves with the sins of our past life that continue to haunt and
condemn us.
Thirdly,
we must be serious in wanting to live the life of truth and charity. That
is what the prophet asks of us, “O House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the
light of the Lord.” There is no question of experiencing the peace and
joy of the Lord in our lives so long as we walk in darkness. To think
that we can continue in our sins and find peace and freedom in the Lord is an
illusion. We have to choose God or sin. Psalm 24 asks, “Who may
ascend the mountain of the “Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an
idol or swear by a false god.” (Ps 24:3-4) So today, we
need to make up our mind, as the Elijah tells us, “How long will you go limping
with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal,
then follow him.” (1 Kg 18:21)
Fourthly,
we must begin to strengthen our spiritual life by opening ourselves to the Word
of God. We need to imbue ourselves with the Word of God. Some
think that they can deepen their prayer life without grounding themselves in
the Word of God and coming to know God through the humanity of
Jesus. St. Teresa of Avila warns us that “the very care taken not
to think about anything will arouse the mind to think a great deal” and
therefore any attempt to separate the mystery of Christ from Christian
meditation is always a form of “betrayal” (cf. Letter to the bishops of
the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian meditation, no 10). Pope
St. John Paul II in his apostolic letter, “Novo Millennio Ineunte” says that
the only way to see the Lord is to contemplate on the face of the Lord.
Furthermore, not only should we be more than ever firmly set on the face
of the Lord” but that this “contemplation of Christ’s face cannot fail to be
inspired by all that we are told about him in Sacred … so that Saint Jerome can
vigorously affirm: ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.’
Remaining firmly anchored in Scripture, we open ourselves to the action
of the Spirit (cf. Jn 15:26).”
So Christian Faith is one
that turns to Jesus as our Lord, Saviour, Teacher and Guide as He is the Way,
the Truth and the Life. It is through a deepening faith in Jesus that we
come to realize who we are and what we are called to be.
Indeed, because the
Centurion had encountered Jesus, he was able to submit in faith. He told
the Lord that He only needed to give the word and His servant would be
cured. He knew that the Word of Jesus was effective and
efficacious. Faith ultimately comes about when we know Jesus through His
Word and teaching. With faith, we can therefore trust in Him regardless
of whatever situation we are in. With faith inspired by the Word of God,
we will find direction and inspiration from the Lord guiding us and helping us
to walk in the light of God, which is the path of freedom in truth and
love. This was the faith of the Centurion, a faith that amazed Jesus
even. He had such confidence in Jesus that he did not even feel the
necessity for Jesus to come personally to heal his slave.
If only
we cultivate this faith of the Centurion, we would have been great evangelizers
transforming the whole world, bringing them to Christ the Light of the
world. The reality is that many of us do not even know Christ because we
do not read His Word. We can be truly the beacon of evangelization that Isaiah
envisaged if we are personally connected with Jesus, imbued with His Word and
walk in the path of truth and charity.
It
behooves us at the beginning of the season of Advent to turn our eyes once
again on the Lord. Let us renew our personal relationship with the Lord,
who “from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends (cf. Ex 33:11; Jn 15:14-15), and moves
among them (cf. Bar 3:38),
in order to invite and receive them into his own company.” (Dei Verbum n.
2) Together with the Centurion, let us intercede for each other, for
those Catholics who do not yet have a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus
and for those who do not yet know Him. If we intercede for each other and
the world the way the Centurion interceded for his servant, then we can be sure
that our prayers would be heard. With the same compassion and love for
one another and for the world, let us keep the season of Advent, which is a
season of waiting, a season of hope, in prayerful watching. Let us not
allow the festivities of this season to distract us from our primary focus,
that is, on the Lord and not on the external trappings of Christmas, namely,
the parties and gifts and the merrymaking.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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