20161221 JOY IS BORN OF THE PROMISE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
EITHER:
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First reading
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Song of Songs
2:8-14 ©
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I hear my Beloved.
See how he comes
leaping on the
mountains,
bounding over the
hills.
My Beloved is like a
gazelle,
like a young stag.
See where he stands
behind our wall.
He looks in at the
window,
he peers through the
lattice.
My Beloved lifts up
his voice,
he says to me,
‘Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
For see, winter is
past,
the rains are over
and gone.
The flowers appear on
the earth.
The season of glad
songs has come,
the cooing of the
turtledove is heard
in our land.
The fig tree is
forming its first figs
and the blossoming
vines give out their fragrance.
Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
My dove, hiding in
the clefts of the rock,
in the coverts of the
cliff,
show me your face,
let me hear your
voice;
for your voice is
sweet
and your face is
beautiful.’
OR:
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Alternative
First reading
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Zephaniah
3:14-18 ©
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Shout for joy,
daughter of Zion,
Israel, shout aloud!
Rejoice, exult with
all your heart,
daughter of
Jerusalem!
The Lord has repealed
your sentence;
he has driven your
enemies away.
The Lord, the king of
Israel, is in your midst;
you have no more evil
to fear.
When that day comes,
word will come to Jerusalem:
Zion, have no fear,
do not let your hands
fall limp.
The Lord your God is
in your midst,
a victorious warrior.
He will exult with
joy over you,
he will renew you by
his love;
he will dance with
shouts of joy for you
as on a day of
festival.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
32(33):2-3,11-12,20-21 ©
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Ring out your joy
to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
Give thanks to the
Lord upon the harp,
with a
ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song
that is new,
play
loudly, with all your skill.
Ring out your joy
to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
His own designs shall
stand for ever,
the plans
of his heart from age to age.
They are happy, whose
God is the Lord,
the
people he has chosen as his own.
Ring out your joy
to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
Our soul is waiting
for the Lord.
The Lord
is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts
find joy.
We trust
in his holy name.
Ring out your joy
to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Key of David, who
open the gates of the eternal kingdom,
come to liberate from
prison
the captive who lives
in darkness.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Emmanuel,
our king and
lawgiver,
come and save us,
Lord our God.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 1:39-45 ©
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Mary
set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of
Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as
Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you
are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be
honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting
reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who
believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
JOY IS
BORN OF THE PROMISE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Ps 32:2-3,11-12,20-21; Luke 1:39-45 ]
Christmas is often
associated with joy. One of the carols that we like to sing is “Joy to
the world!” What is the basis of this joy? Namely, that the
savior has come and that Christ has come to reign with His love and
truth. With Christ’s coming, there will be peace in our land and there will
be love among men. The thought of Christ’s coming therefore fills those
without love and without peace with expectant joy. This joy is born out
of this promise. This is the message of today’s scripture readings as we
enter the 5th day of the “O” Antiphons that prepare us for the
coming of Christ.
Indeed in the first reading
from the Book of Songs, the mystical love and union between God and His bride,
the Church is portrayed in terms of human love between two lovers. The
Book of the Song of Songs is really a compendium of love songs for a
wedding. Love is full of joy and admiration at the beauty of our loved
ones. “I hear my Beloved. See how he comes leaping on the
mountains, bounding over the hills. My Beloved is like a gazelle, like a young
stag.” She says, “My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock, in the
coverts of the cliff, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice
is sweet and your face is beautiful.” Love is attentive, always paying
attention and observing the details of our beloved. “See where he
stands behind our wall. He looks in at the window, he peers through the
lattice.” Where there is love, there is newness of life and we see
things in a new perspective. “For see, winter is past, the rains are over
and gone. The flowers appear on the earth. The season of glad songs has come,
the cooing of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree is forming its
first figs and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance.”
Indeed, anyone who is in
love with God is filled with joy. When the love of God fills the person’s
hearts, the things of this world pale in comparison with His love. “If
one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly
scorned.” (Songs 8:7b) Love gives us meaning and purpose in life. To fall
in love with God is the greatest thing on this earth. When God’s love is
in our hearts, we find deeper inner peace, joy and security. St Paul
says, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (1 Cor 13:19b-20)
Secondly, the joy of
Christmas comes from liberation. In the optional reading from Zephaniah,
the prophet said, “Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud!
Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has
repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away.” Indeed,
the Lord has come to take away our shame. He has come to take away all
that harm and destroy us. He will help us to overcome our inner enemies,
that is our sins and selfishness; and He will liberate us from our external
enemies, pain, suffering and injustices. The prophet assures us that God
is our warrior. He will fight the battle for us. We only need to
rely on His strength and might. “The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your
midst; you have no more evil to fear. When that day comes, word will come to
Jerusalem: Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord your
God is in your midst, a victorious warrior.” Both in today’s
acclamation before the gospel and at the Magnificat at vespers, we pray, “O Key
of David, who open the gates of the eternal kingdom, come to liberate from
prison the captive who lives in darkness.”
Truly, when the Lord is in
us, we feel liberated from all fears, worries and anxieties. All our sins
come from fear and the desire to protect our self-interests. We fear
death, hunger and pain. But the Lord shows us that love is stronger than
death and selfishness. So like the lover, we say to the Lord, “Set me as
a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging
flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.”
(Songs 8:6-7a)
The Good News is that the
Lord is coming and He has come. “My Beloved lifts up his voice, he says
to me, ‘Come then, my love, my lovely one, come.” The Lord is saying to
us, “Come then, my love, my lovely one, come.” In a real way, the Lord
comes to us in the Incarnation. In the gospel reading, we read of how the
Lord came to visit Elizabeth in the womb of Mary. “Now as soon as
Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit.” The coming of the Lord filled
Elizabeth with joy and John the Baptist also leapt for joy.
The Lord comes to us again
and again. He comes to us when we receive Him in the Eucharist, just as
our Blessed Mother carried the Lord in the tabernacle of her womb.
Whenever we receive the Eucharist with a pure heart, a clear conscience and a
devout spirit, the Lord enters into our lives and renews the Holy Spirit given
to us at our baptism. If our disposition is right, the Lord comes,
but most of the time we do not recognize His real presence in the
Eucharist. This explains why although many Catholics receive communion
every Sunday, nothing is happening in their lives. They receive without
reverence, without a conscious recognition of Christ’s presence in the bread
and most of all, in the seriousness of their sins.
Still, the Lord can come to
us anew if we receive Him in the sacrament of reconciliation. The Lord wants
to set us free from our prison of sin and misery. Our pride,
self-righteousness, egotism and anger often blind us to the reality of the
truth. If we want to be set free to find love and peace, then we
need to seek His forgiveness; and then extend this forgiveness to our fellowmen
and all those who have hurt us. So if we have not yet frequented the
Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will be losing a great opportunity of
grace. How can there be peace and joy at Christmas when one is not reconciled
with God and with our loved ones and our fellowmen? If we want peace, let
us make peace with ourselves, with God and others.
The Lord comes especially
also in the compassion and mercy that others show to us, or vice versa.
Mary, hearing that Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age immediately responded
to her help. She travelled a great distance to help her cousin. We
too like Mary are called to be channels of grace and love. She not only
literally brought Jesus to Elizabeth and John the Baptist but she herself
became the presence of Jesus to them. Through her kindness and
graciousness, Elizabeth immediately sensed the divine presence in her heart and
womb. We too must do the same. As we reach out to the lonely, the
sick, the wounded, the hungry and the poor, we come to encounter Christ in them
and they encounter Christ in us.
If the Lord were to dwell
in our hearts, we must make time for silence and prayer. “Give thanks to
the Lord upon the harp, with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs. O sing him a
song that is new, play loudly, with all your skill.” This last week of
Advent is an intense period of expectancy which is aroused and strengthened by
prayer, meditation and contemplation. We must seek and desire that our
Lord comes into our lives. Like the love who said, “Upon my bed at
night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not; I
called him, but he gave no answer. I will rise now and go about the city, in
the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves.” (Songs
3:1-2) Let us wait for the Lord in prayer and good works. “Our soul
is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield. In him do our
hearts find joy. We trust in his holy name.” Let us not delay any longer
but have faith. “Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made
her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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