20171211
FINDING COURAGE TO LET THE LORD COME INTO OUR
LIVES
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 35:1-10 ©
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The return of the redeemed through desert
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Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult,
let the wasteland rejoice and bloom,
let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil,
let it rejoice and sing for joy.
The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.
Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees
and say to all faint hearts,
‘Courage! Do not be afraid.
‘Look, your God is coming,
vengeance is coming,
the retribution of God;
he is coming to save you.’
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
the ears of the deaf unsealed,
then the lame shall leap like a deer
and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy;
for water gushes in the desert,
streams in the wasteland,
the scorched earth becomes a lake,
the parched land springs of water.
The lairs where the jackals used to live
become thickets of reed and papyrus...
And through it will run a highway undefiled
which shall be called the Sacred Way;
the unclean may not travel by it,
nor fools stray along it.
No lion will be there
nor any fierce beast roam about it,
but the redeemed will walk there,
for those the Lord has ransomed shall return.
They will come to Zion shouting for joy,
everlasting joy on their faces;
joy and gladness will go with them
and sorrow and lament be ended.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 84(85):9-14(Advent) ©
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Look, our God is coming to save us.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in our land.
Look, our God is coming to save us.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from heaven.
Look, our God is coming to save us.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps.
Look, our God is coming to save us.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Lk3:4,6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight,
and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
Alleluia!
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Or
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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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Gospel
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Luke 5:17-26 ©
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Jesus was teaching one day, and among the audience there were
Pharisees and doctors of the Law who had come from every village in Galilee,
from Judaea and from Jerusalem. And the Power of the Lord was behind his works
of healing. Then some men appeared, carrying on a bed a paralysed man whom they
were trying to bring in and lay down in front of him. But as the crowd made it
impossible to find a way of getting him in, they went up on to the flat roof
and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the
gathering, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith he said, ‘My friend, your sins
are forgiven you.’ The scribes and the Pharisees began to think this over. ‘Who
is this man talking blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ But Jesus,
aware of their thoughts, made them this reply, ‘What are these thoughts you
have in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven
you” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said to the paralysed man –
‘I order you: get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.’ And immediately
before their very eyes he got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went
home praising God.
They were all
astounded and praised God, and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen
strange things today.’
11 DECEMBER, 2017, Monday, 2nd Week of Advent
FINDING COURAGE TO LET THE LORD COME INTO OUR LIVES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ IS 35:1-10; Ps 85:9-14; Lk 5:17-26 ]
Many of us
are paralyzed in life. We are paralyzed in different ways. Some of us are
paralyzed physically. We feel constrained in mobility and are heavily dependent
on caregivers. Others are paralyzed by their past. They cannot forgive
themselves or the mistakes they had made. They also cannot let go of
those unpleasant events in their lives. They cannot forgive themselves or
those who have hurt them. Whenever they recall the pain and the shame
they suffered, they are unsettled.
If we feel
paralyzed and too weak to get back to living again, let us take courage for the
Lord is assuring us that He has come to save us. He said,
“Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees and say to all faint
hearts, ‘Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming, vengeance is
coming, the retribution of God; he is coming to save you.’” We hear these
words, “take courage” very often in the bible. David said to Solomon, “Be
strong and of good courage, and do it. Fear not, be not dismayed; for the Lord
God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you, until all
the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.” (1 Chr 28:20)
Moses said to his successor, Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage, do not
fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he
will not fail you or forsake you.” (Dt 31:6)
And the angel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God.” (Lk 1:30) Indeed, this is good news. We need to
renew our courage again and take comfort that the Lord will come to render
justice to us all.
With His
coming, He will make the soil and the land fertile again. He will renew
the face of the earth. ‘Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the
wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let
it rejoice and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it, the
splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, the
splendour of our God.” Indeed, whenever the Lord is with us, we will be
always fruitful. This is what the Lord said, “He who abides in me, and I
in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do
nothing.” (Jn 15:5) “I chose you and appointed you that you should
go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask
the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (Jn 15:16)
The Lord has
come also to heal us of our illnesses. This is fulfilled in the Lord
Jesus.
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed,
then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for
joy.” We read in the gospel that “the Power of the Lord was behind his
works of healing.” Jesus healed and delivered people from all
illnesses. “Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in
their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every
disease and every infirmity.” (Mt 9:35)
Hence, we must not despair when we are sick or unable to find the right medication
or doctor to cure us of our sickness. There is always hope.
The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see
whether my word will come true for you or not.” (Num 11:23)
Indeed, just as in the New Testament, the miracles continue to be worked even
in our days because the Lord promised His disciples, “these signs will
accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will
speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly
thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they
will recover.” (Mk 16:17f)
So what is
preventing us from being healed? Firstly, it is because of our sins. The prophet Isaiah
said, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his
ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you so that he
does not hear.” (Isa 59:1f) That is why above all, the Lord comes to
forgive us our sins. This was what He said to the paralyzed man.
“My friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Jesus understood that the
deepest healing that anyone needs is not physical healing. We just have
to look around us. Many of us are healthy and strong and yet are most
miserable and unhappy in this world. Yet, there are those who are of
ill-health but are much more cheerful, positive and joyful. So the crux
of the problem is that we are spiritually dis-ease and so are also physically
sick. Forgiveness of sin brings about physical and emotional healing as
well. This is the most important form of healing.
Secondly,
because of the lack of faith. The scribes and the Pharisees were not
receptive to the healing power of our Lord because they did not recognize Him
as coming from God. “The scribes and the Pharisees began to think this over. ‘Who is
this man talking blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” To
prove that He had the power to forgive sins, Jesus manifested His divine power
of forgiveness by healing the man, since sickness was connected with sin and
being healed indicated that he was freed from sin. Hence, Jesus said,
“Which of these is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’ or to say ‘Get
up and walk’? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority
on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said to the paralyzed man – ‘I order you: get
up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.’”
Indeed, it is
faith that will allow the Lord to heal us deeply. In the first
place, the Lord healed the paralyzed man not because of his faith – he then had
no faith – but it was the living faith of those who carried him to be healed by
Jesus. We can admire their faith which was put into love. (cf Gal 5:6)
“Then some men appeared, carrying on a bed a paralyzed man whom they were
trying to bring in and lay down in front of him. Seeing their faith he
said, ‘My friend, your sins are forgiven you.’” The faith of his friends
brought Jesus’ desire to heal the man on account of their faith in
Him. We can be sure too that the faith of his friends would have
helped him to be open to the Lord. Faith inspires faith. When we
are weak, the faith of others will inspire us. That is why sharing of
what God has done for us in our lives is important because it inspires the
faith of others. Whenever faith is present, the Lord will heal and show His
power. Elizabeth said this of Mary, “And blessed is she who believed that
there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Lk 1:45)
Thirdly, it
is because we place limits on the power of God. The religious leaders
could not go beyond their narrow mindset. They were constrained by their
knowledge of the laws and traditions and so were unable to accept Jesus as the
prophet of God. Those without faith will be skeptical. Those with faith
are creative and resourceful. Where there is a will there is a way.
They never give up, like the four men who carried the paralyzed man to Jesus.
Finding no way to bring the paralyzed man to Jesus “as the crowd made it
impossible to find a way of getting him in, they went up on the flat roof and
lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the
gathering, in front of Jesus.” As the angel rightly said to Mary, “For
with God nothing will be impossible.” (Lk 1:37)
So let us
walk this Sacred Highway as the prophet asked of us. “And through it will
run a highway undefiled which shall be called the Sacred Way; the unclean may
not travel by it, nor fools stray along it. No lion will be there nor any
fierce beast roam about it, but the redeemed will walk there, for those the
Lord has ransomed shall return.” This Sacred Way is the way of faith and
holiness. It is the way of justice and fidelity to God. The
psalmist prays, “Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have
embraced. The Lord will make us prosper and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him and peace shall follow his steps.” When we
seek to live a life of justice and truth, we will be able to praise God because
there will be joy in our hearts. Indeed, we “will come to Zion shouting
for joy, joy and gladness will go with them and sorrow and lament be ended.”
Even in our struggles, let us walk in faith and in joy knowing that He
will lead us to fullness of life.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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