20161209 DANCING THE DANCE OF THE LORD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 48:17-19 ©
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Thus says the Lord,
your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your
God, teach you what is good for you,
I lead you in the way
that you must go.
If only you had been
alert to my commandments,
your happiness would
have been like a river,
your integrity like
the waves of the sea.
Your children would
have been numbered like the sand,
your descendants as
many as its grains.
Never would your name
have been cut off or blotted out before me.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©
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Anyone who follows
you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Happy indeed is the
man
who
follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the
way of sinners
nor sits
in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is
the law of the Lord
and who
ponders his law day and night.
Anyone who follows
you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
that is planted
beside
the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit
in due season
and whose
leaves shall never fade;
and all
that he does shall prosper.
Anyone who follows
you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so are the wicked,
not so!
For they like
winnowed chaff
shall be
driven away by the wind.
for the Lord guards
the way of the just
but the
way of the wicked leads to doom.
Anyone who follows
you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
See, the king, the
Lord of the world, will come.
He will free us from
the yoke of our bondage.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord will come,
go out to meet him.
Great is his
beginning and his reign will have no end.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 11:16-19
©
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Jesus spoke to the
crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children
shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:
“We played the pipes
for you,
and you wouldn’t
dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t be
mourners.”
‘For
John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The
Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a
drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved
right by her actions.’
DANCING
THE DANCE OF THE LORD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ ISAIAH 48:17-19; MATTHEW 11:16-19 ]
The Lord is coming
soon. We must therefore dance for joy. This is the constant
message of hope during the season of Advent. How can we do this except by
entering into the dance of the Lord? To dance with the Lord requires that
we be in sync with Him. This is what the Lord lamented of the Jewish
leaders and the Jews, “What description can I find for this generation? It is
like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place: ‘We
played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you
wouldn’t be mourners.’ For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they
say, ‘He is possessed.’ The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say,
‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Yet
wisdom has been proved right by her actions.”
Indeed, His contemporaries
did not welcome Jesus or accept Him. They did not listen to His
teachings. Instead of facing the truth about themselves, they found excuses for
rejecting Jesus, just as they rejected John the Baptist when he preached the
message of repentance. Not just John the Baptist, but the prophets before
them as well. They were even killed! John the Baptist was ridiculed
as an ascetic and maybe possessed because of his message of repentance and
God’s punishment. With Jesus they thought He was mad too. They could not
accept His association with the tax collectors and sinners on one hand, and the
unconditional mercy and forgiveness of God on another. Whichever way,
they were not ready to dance with the Lord. They wanted to do things
their way and sought happiness and freedom according to their likes and
fancies.
But it is clear in today’s
first reading that if we want to find happiness in life, all we need to do is
to learn the dance of the Lord and keep dancing according to its tune. The
rhythm of this dance is provided in the commandments of the Lord.
God said, “I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you, I lead you in
the way that you must go. If only you had been alert to my commandments, your
happiness would have been like a river, your integrity like the waves of the
sea. Your children would have been numbered like the sand, your descendants as
many as its grains. Never would your name have been cut off or blotted
out before me.” If we follow the ways of the Lord, which is His
wisdom, we will happiness. If we are alert to what the Lord wants
of us, then we will live a life of true happiness, one of joy, peace and a clear
conscience. Most of all, we will also have happy marriages, beautiful
children and blessed families.
The cause of unhappiness
and misery is always the consequence of not following the commandments of the
Lord, the path that He has shown us. By going against the wisdom of
the Lord and following the wisdom, or rather the folly of the world, we deceive
ourselves, delude ourselves into what is true happiness. Above all, we
destroy our inner peace because we lack integrity of life; our families because
we do not know how to love them as we should, our marriages because of the lack
of fidelity and self-giving love. This is what the psalmist says as
well. “Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but
whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night. He
is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit
in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall
prosper. Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff shall be
driven away by the wind, for the Lord guards the way of the just but the way of
the wicked leads to doom.” If we do not drink from the well of wisdom,
that is, from the river of life, the Word of truth, then we will not bear
fruits in our lives and our work. Like the wicked, dishonest and selfish
people in the world, we bring about our destruction.
So if
we truly seek happiness in life and true joy, then the responsorial psalm
says, “Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.” We
must choose to dance with the Lord according to the dance He has shown us by
first and foremost welcoming Jesus, the Word of God into our hearts. During
this season of Advent, we must prepare ourselves by learning the steps of this
dance by praying over the Word of God. Unless the Word of God is born in
our hearts and takes flesh in our lives, words and actions, we cannot be said
to know the dance. But if Jesus’ words are imbibed by us, we
will act accordingly because He makes His home with us in the Spirit.
“Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will
come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not
keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father
who sent me.” (Jn 14:23f)
Secondly, we need to put
into action what we believe; not like a robot, unbending to the rules or being
wishy washy. In other words, the Word of God only provides us the
principles and the essentials of Christian living. The practical
application must be applied accordingly, sensibly and with compassion and
understanding. We must be careful not to fall into legalism where life is
like an automaton, simply observing the rules and laws regardless of the
situation. The Spirit of the Law cannot be changed but situations
change and we need to keep the truth which cannot change. But sometimes,
to retain the truth and the spirit of the Law, we need to adapt
accordingly. We are not fundamentalists in reading the bible literally as
if is it a reference book with ready answers for every occasion. The
bible must be read within context and always in the spirit behind what is
written.
Thirdly, living a life of
wisdom is precisely, the ability to adapt the Laws rightly. Jesus never
said that John the Baptist was wrong in calling to repentence so that the
people could be saved and not incur the punishment of God. Jesus too had the
same intention, which is to call the people to repentance. But He knew
that threats alone cannot change lives and bring people to conversion through
fear and punishment. The consequences of sin remain unchanged if evil and
selfish people do not repent. But the way of Jesus was to make friends
with tax collectors, be with them, celebrating with them, sharing His love with
them and finding ways to win them over so that they could through His love,
mercy, compassion and non-judgmental attitude be receptive to His
message. Often the truth is never the problem; it has to do with the
packaging. This is why in today’s world, the use of mass media is
necessary because we need to engage our young people through interactive engagement
rather than through lectures and instructions.
Truly, the words of Jesus
and His actions proved Him right. By His unconditional love and mercy, He
brought sinners back to God. They repented not out of fear but in
response to God’s mercy and love. His passion and death, perceived as a
failure of His mission, was God’s way to bring sinners to repentance and
conversion, particularly when they encountered Him risen from the dead.
So let us also live a life
of integrity by dancing with the Lord, reaching out to people according to the
situation and circumstances. That was how Jesus lived. A man of
integrity and authentically human and hence truly divine! With those who
were sick, Jesus healed them; with those who were hungry, He felt for them and
fed them; with those who were in bereavement like the case of the widow of
Naim, the sisters of Lazarus, He wept with them; when He was tired, He slept in
the boat; when the disciples were tired after a long ministry, He called them
to rest; with the self-righteous Pharisees and the Scribes, Jesus did not mince
His words; with repentant sinners, Jesus did not condemn.
We too must find ways to
befriend sinners, atheists and those hostile to the Church. We cannot
expect people to come to Church to seek reconciliation. Our task is to
reach out to the un-reached and the marginalized that are not in the
Church. That is why, Pope Francis asks us to go out to the market place
and the battlefield to meet them. Waiting for sinners to return to Church
is not the best way to bring them home. So if we live our lives with
wisdom, by being authentic people, living a life of integrity and compassion,
we will certainly experience the joy of Christ in our hearts and we will in
turn bring joy to others and give them hope and salvation.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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