20171231 BUILDING A FAMILY OF FAITH
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First reading
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Genesis 15:1-6,21:1-3 ©
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The word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no
fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.’
‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give
me? I go childless...’ Then Abram said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants;
some man of my household will be my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was
spoken to him, ‘He shall not be your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh
and blood.’ Then taking him outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the
stars if you can. Such will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his
faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.
The Lord dealt kindly with Sarah as he had said, and
did what he had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old
age, at the time God had promised. Abraham named the son born to him Isaac, the
son to whom Sarah had given birth.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 127(128):1-5 ©
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O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk
in his ways!
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk
in his ways!
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk
in his ways!
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk
in his ways!
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Second reading
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Hebrews 11:8,11-12,17-19 ©
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It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a
country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he
set out without knowing where he was going. It was equally by faith that Sarah,
in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed
that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this,
there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more
descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains
of sand on the seashore.
It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test,
offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises
had been made to him and he had been told: It
is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the
power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back
Isaac from the dead.
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Gospel
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Luke 2:22-40 ©
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My eyes have seen your salvation
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When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law
of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the
Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be
consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in
accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or
two young pigeons.
Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was
an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the
Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that
he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord.
Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in
the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms
and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people Israel.’
As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the
things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his
mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of
many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will
pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid
bare.’
There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of
Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood
over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now
eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with
fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God;
and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of
Jerusalem.
When they had done everything the Law of the Lord
required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile
the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was
with him.
31 DECEMBER, 2017, Sunday, Holy Family
BUILDING A FAMILY OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ GEN 15:1-6,21:1-3; HEB 11:8,11-12,17-19; LK 2:22-40
]
What is it
that makes life meaningful and purposeful? For many of us, we are
deceived by the world into thinking that happiness in life is to have wealth,
fame and power. As a result many of us spend our whole life, and direct
all our energies to our work, business, making money, being famous and promoted
to positions of power and influence. The truth is that those who have
arrived will discover the emptiness of wealth, power and the burden of fame,
because it means the loss of security and privacy. This is the
irony of life.
In the final
analysis, what makes life worth living is meaningful relationships and
love. Without love, life is empty and totally meaningless. We are
not animals that simply need food and pleasure. We have an intellect and
a will to grow in knowledge, understanding and a heart that needs love and
warmth. All the wealth and power in this world cannot fill the abyss of
the human heart. This was true of Abraham. He was rich and
famous. That was why God did not promise him wealth and power. He
himself found life so meaningless.
But it is not
even enough to be married. Indeed, even though Abram had a wife, he was
unfulfilled. Abram lamented when he told the Lord, “My Lord, what do you intend
to give me? I go childless. See, you have given me no descendants; some man of
my household will be my heir.” Love does not exist only between
persons. A love that stays within two persons will eventually die.
This is why the Church is against any form of relationship that is closed-in
and does not go beyond themselves to be at the service of humanity. This
explains why the Church has always said that every marriage must be open to
procreation. Marriage is not defined as a relationship between two
persons, as in same sex union, but a man and a woman who are open to bringing
forth children into the world. The truth is that only when the love
between the two persons gives birth to new life, that love will not be one of
fullness. True love for each other is never kept between the couple but
is poured out into the world. This is true of God as well. The love
between the Father and the Son is not kept within themselves but their love for
each other is poured out into the world through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
love.
Does it mean
that those who are married and have no children are doomed? Not
necessarily. Our
lives at the end of the day cannot be lived for ourselves but for the service
of God and humanity, by giving life to others, whether physically or in
moral and material support. Our lives are given to be consecrated for
others. It is true also for us priests and religious, as well as
singles. This was what Mary and Joseph did when they brought Jesus to the
Temple. It was the law of the Jews that every first-born child must be
offered to the Lord and be consecrated to Him. A sacrifice is offered to
God to redeem the child as an acknowledgment that God is the author of
life. The child does not belong to us but to God and is to be groomed for
the service of God and humanity.
Simeon said
of Jesus.
“You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many
in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected.” Mary and Joseph
offered Jesus to the Lord and consecrated Him for the service of the people of
God and for God Himself. Jesus, we read, was called not just to be the
light of the Jews but for the salvation of everyone. This was what Simeon
said. “Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you
promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for
all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your
people Israel.” We too must offer our children and ourselves for the
service of God and humanity.
Consequently,
we are called to build up not just a human family but also a family of faith. All the three
scripture readings of this Sunday speak about the importance of faith in God.
We need to build our family according to what God wants of us. The family must
be god-fearing and devout. This was what Mary and Joseph did. “And
when the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses,
they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what
stands written in the Law of the Lord.” We need to pray for the wisdom to raise
up our family and children according to the laws of God as Joseph and Mary
did. In this way, the family would be united in love and service. A
Catholic family is not one that is inward-looking but reaching out to others in
love by contributing to the larger human family. Hence, it is important
that we must ensure that our family is raised in the faith of the Church.
If we do not, we will lack the direction to guide our family to walk in the way
of the Lord so that they can find life.
What is
faith? Faith means first and foremost to trust in God. This was what the Lord said,
to Abram. “Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be
very great.” God was saying to Abram that He would be His protector, His
shield and His defence against all enemies. Indeed, “it was by faith that
Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given
to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was
going.” He simply trusted in God’s promise. When he left the
land of Ur, he was already 75 years old!
Secondly,
faith means to believe in the impossible. It was this faith that
enabled Abraham and Sarah to have a child, in spite of Sarah being past
child-bearing age. The Lord spoke to him, “…your heir shall
be of your own flesh and blood. Look up to heaven and count the stars if you
can. Such will be your descendants.”
Thirdly,
faith means to obey. When we have faith in God, we obey Him even when we
do not understand. Abraham obeyed God and left his homeland to a place that he
had not seen even though he was already well established in life. He did
not need to venture out as he was already rich with flocks. Most of all,
his obedience was seen in the sacrifice of Isaac. After waiting for
25 years, so much so that by the time Isaac was born Abraham was already 100
years old, yet when the Lord asked for his only son, Abraham did not hesitate
but immediately set out early in the morning to sacrifice his only son.
Indeed, Hebrews tells us that “It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the
test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the
promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is through Isaac that
your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to
raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the
dead”
Finally,
faith means to surrender oneself entirely to the Lord. Indeed, Abraham surrendered
his life entirely to the Lord, walking by faith not by sight. He believed
because of the promise of the Lord even though not all the promises were
realized in his time. “Yet all these, though they were commended for
their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided
something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.”
(Heb 11:39f)
So today, if
we can find the strength to surrender our family to the Lord, especially our
children and elderly, then we need to put Jesus as the center of our lives, our
family, our work and our activities. We too must offer ourselves and our children to
God for His service and humanity. But for this to take place, we need to
acquire the wisdom of God the way Simeon and the prophetess Anna did. We
are told that “he was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s
comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the
Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of
the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him
into his arms and blessed God.” And for Anna, “She was now eighty-four
years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and
prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke
of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.”
We cannot be
faith-filled people living in the wisdom of God unless we are a praying family
like Simeon and Anna. They were people who walked close to God and were
enlightened to see the Messiah when He came. We too must walk in the
spirit of faith with our own family and the larger family of faith in the
Catholic community, especially worshipping together in faith and sharing our
faith with the community and the people beyond our narrow confines. In
this way, together we build the family of God, a family rooted in love, faith
and in Christ who shows us the way to grow in maturity and in wisdom as He did
in Nazareth. “Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with
wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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