20171206
JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF HUMAN HOPE
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 25:6-10 ©
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On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples
a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,
of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.
On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples,
and the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death for ever.
The Lord will wipe away
the tears from every cheek;
he will take away his people’s shame
everywhere on earth,
for the Lord has said so.
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in whom we hoped for salvation;
the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We exult and we rejoice
that he has saved us;
for the hand of the Lord
rests on this mountain.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 22(23) ©
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In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever
and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever
and ever.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever
and ever.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever
and ever.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever
and ever.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Is33:22
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is our judge, the Lord our lawgiver,
the Lord our king and our saviour.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Look, the Lord will come to save his people.
Blessed those who are ready to meet him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 15:29-37 ©
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Jesus reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and he went up
into the hills. He sat there, and large crowds came to him bringing the lame,
the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at his
feet, and he cured them. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking,
the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and
they praised the God of Israel.
But Jesus
called his disciples to him and said, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they
have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to
send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way.’ The disciples said to
him, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this deserted place to feed such a
crowd?’ Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said ‘and
a few small fish.’ Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and
he took the seven loaves and the fish, and he gave thanks and broke them and
handed them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much
as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets
full.
06 DECEMBER, 2017, Wednesday, 1st Week of Advent
JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF HUMAN HOPE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Is 25:6-10; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 15:29-37 ]
The season of
Advent is a season of Hope. The first week of Advent particularly focuses on this theme
of hope. Hope is what pulls faith and charity along. Without hope,
there is no faith to believe in God. Without hope, we give up doing all
good, especially when evil seems stronger. So hope is necessary for
one to put his faith in God and have the perseverance in love. But what
is the basis of Christian hope? Our hope is in Christ. (cf 1 Tim 1:1)
What are our
hopes in this life? We all seek freedom from pain and suffering. All of us are fearful of
pain, especially physical pain. Those of us who are elderly are worried
about who will look after us when we are demented or unable to take care of
ourselves. The tragedy is that many of us do not take care of our health
until when we get sick. Then we become desperate when medicine can no
longer cure us even if we can afford the medical bill. This explains why
when Jesus sat down to teach, “large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the
crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at his
feet.”
Secondly, we
fear hunger and
we hope that we always have abundance. Even if we are healthy, we are
anxious about our material needs, whether we have enough food to eat, clothes
to wear and place to stay. Perhaps, some of us have never gone hungry in
life unless we have fasted. Hunger is an unbearable thing. We
feel weak and unable to think, much less to work. It is because of our
fear of the lack of material wants, that we pursue wealth like the rest of
humanity. We are so anxious that we might never have enough and so we
hoard our money and things in case we need them one day. We live in
anxiety that we might not have enough money to give us a comfortable life till
the day we die.
Thirdly, we
fear loneliness and the departure of our loved ones. We all need friends
and company. We are afraid to be alone, especially elderly people and
those who are sick. There is nothing more assuring than to have someone
with us when life is not certain. Even the very young feel secure only
when their parents are with them to protect them from all harm and evil.
We all desire friendship and companionship. There are many who are so
fearful of loneliness that they would seek to get a partner at all costs.
Some are not ready for marriage or for a relationship but because of
desperation, they cling to the other person thinking that the person could take
away their loneliness and fear. The truth is that no one can take away
our loneliness.
Finally, we
hope for fullness of life and eternal life. We fear death. For many, death is the end
of everything. Those who do not believe in God cannot live fully because
they know that life is temporary. Whatever they do or have will be taken
away upon death, which could come any time. Moreover, when it comes
unexpectedly, all the things we accumulate and build will have to be left
behind. Then as St Paul said, “What do I gain if, humanly speaking,
I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and
drink, for tomorrow we die.’” (1 Cor 15:32)
Indeed, life is meaningless when everything ends upon death. There is no
reason to work hard, to build anything for the future because there is no
future, there is only the present. Then we just live for today without
any thought of tomorrow. This is what the world is doing. Many are
just trying to grab as much as they can, enjoy all that is available to them.
Who cares for the ecology? Who cares for the aging population? Most
of us will be dead and gone before the crises set in. Therefore, if we do
not have hope for tomorrow, then everyone would just live for himself or
herself.
In response
to the hopes of the world, the scripture readings provide us a certain
hope. Our life will not end in futility. Pain, suffering,
hunger and death will not be the last word. The prophet Isaiah says, “On
this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich
food, a banquet of fine wine, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.
On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the
shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever.”
Indeed, this is the promise of God for all of us, Jews and Gentiles. “The
Lord God will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his
peoples shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so.”
How will He
do this if not by giving us Christ as the fulfillment of our Hope. Jesus is the Good Shepherd
in the responsorial psalm. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and
kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am
the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (Jn 10:10f)
Indeed, because Jesus is the Good Shepherd, He will lead us to fresh and green
pastures where He gives us repose. He will revive our drooping spirit. He
guides us along the right path. And if we should walk in the valley of
darkness He is there with His crook and your staff.”
In the
gospel, Jesus showed Himself to be our healer, taking away all our illnesses
and sufferings. All those who were brought to Him, “He cured them.
The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again,
the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of
Israel.” Today, Jesus continues to heal those who have faith in
Him. Many have been miraculously healed through prayer, healing services
and most of all, through the Eucharist. Jesus continues to heal through the
Church and her ministers, especially in the Sacraments of the Sick and
Reconciliation.
Jesus also
showed Himself to be the one who feeds our hunger. In the miracle of the
feeding of the 5000 thousand, St Matthew underscores that Jesus came not just
to satisfy the hunger of the Jews but for all Gentiles as well. (cf Mt 14:13-21)
When He multiplied the bread this time, he was in Gentile territory in the
region of the Genneraset where He healed the sick. (cf Mt 14:34-36)
Earlier on, He delivered the daughter of a Canaanite woman from the Evil
One. Indeed, with Jesus, we can be assured of His divine providence for
He will give us more than we need. At the end of the miracle, we note,
“They all ate as much as they wanted and they collected what was left of the scraps,
seven baskets full.” Not only does He feed our physical hunger, but
Jesus as the Bread of Life gives us our daily bread so that we can live on the
Word of God, find inspiration, encouragement and direction in life.
Jesus comes
to take away our loneliness too. As the Bread of life, He comes to gather us
together as one family to celebrate the banquet of life and love. The
multiplication of loaves is but a foreshadowing of the Eucharistic
celebration. Whenever we come together as the family of God, to worship
and fellowship with each other, we receive support from the
community. As Christians, we are never alone but we have each other
to care for one another. Sharing in the Eucharistic banquet, we
celebrate the Sacrament of unity and love. So not only are we blessed
with rich food but also with loving and caring company.
Finally,
Jesus comes to take away the fear of death. St Paul said, “If for this life only we
have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:19)
In His incarnation, Jesus died so that He could help us conquer the fear of
death. The letter to the Hebrews says, “Since therefore the children
share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that
through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the
devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong
bondage” (Heb 2:14f) With death overcome by Jesus’ death and
resurrection, our life is complete. We know for certain that death
is not the last word but eternal life with Christ.
This is what
Vatican II in the Constitution of the Modern Church says, “The Church firmly
believes that Christ, who died and was raised up for all, can through His
Spirit offer man the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme
destiny. Nor has any other name under the heaven been given to man by which it
is fitting for him to be saved. She likewise holds that in her most
benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal point and the goal of
man, as well as of all human history.” (GS 3) Truly, Jesus is
the hope of every individual and every nation. “Through Christ and in
Christ, the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful. Apart from His Gospel,
they overwhelm us. Christ has risen, destroying death by His death; He has
lavished life upon us so that, as sons in the Son, we can cry out in the
Spirit; Abba, Father.” (GS 22)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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