20171219
THE GIFT OF A CHILD
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Judges 13:2-7,24-25 ©
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There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His
wife was barren, she had borne no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to
this woman and said to her, ‘You are barren and have had no child. But from now
on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For
you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy
shall be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb. It is he who will begin to
rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines.’ Then the woman went and told
her husband, ‘A man of God has just come to me; his presence was like the
presence of the angel of God, he was so majestic. I did not ask him where he
came from, and he did not reveal his name to me. But he said to me, “You will
conceive and bear a son. From now on, take no wine or strong drink, and eat
nothing unclean. For the boy shall be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb to
his dying day.”’
The woman
gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and the Lord blessed
him; and the spirit of the Lord began to move him.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 70(71):3-6,16-17 ©
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My lips are filled with your praise, with your
glory all the day long.
Be a rock where I can take refuge,
a mighty stronghold to save me;
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
Free me from the hand of the wicked.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your
glory all the day long.
It is you, O Lord, who are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth,
from my mother’s womb you have been my help.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your
glory all the day long.
I will declare the Lord’s mighty deeds
proclaiming your justice, yours alone.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders still.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your
glory all the day long.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Root of Jesse, set up as a sign to the peoples,
come to save us,
and delay no more.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 1:5-25 ©
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In the days of King Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called
Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a
wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron. Both were worthy in the
sight of God, and scrupulously observed all the commandments and observances of
the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both
getting on in years.
Now it was
the turn of Zechariah’s section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly
office before God when it fell to him by lot, as the ritual custom was, to
enter the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of incense
the whole congregation was outside, praying.
Then there
appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of
incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the
angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John. He will be
your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great
in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink. Even from his
mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back
many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of
Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their
children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have,
preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.’
Zechariah
said to the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is
getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel who stand in God’s
presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.
Listen! Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at their
appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has
happened.’ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised
that he stayed in the sanctuary so long. When he came out he could not speak to
them, and they realised that he had received a vision in the sanctuary. But he
could only make signs to them, and remained dumb.
When his
time of service came to an end he returned home. Some time later his wife
Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept to herself. ‘The Lord has
done this for me’ she said ‘now that it has pleased him to take away the
humiliation I suffered among men.’
19 DECEMBER, 2017, Tuesday, 3rd Week of Advent
THE GIFT OF A CHILD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JUDGES 13:2-7,24-25; LUKE 1:5-25 ]
Why do we
want to have children? Why are there so many childless parents trying so hard to
have children? What are their motives? Many want to have children
so that they could bring life to an otherwise boring marriage. Marriage
without children does not seem complete. For a woman, not having a child
makes them feel unfulfilled. They hope that with children their lives
will be richer and more fulfilled. Some want to have children so that the
spouse will have greater commitment to the marriage and not leave the
family. Others hope that they will be able to look after them in their
old age. Some others would like their family name to live on after them.
These motives, whilst not ignoble, are certainly inward- looking.
But more
important than all these reasons, God gives us children so that we can share in
His life and love in two ways. By having children in our marriage, the
love between the couple can grow from strength to strength. Love grows not by
keeping that love between two persons. When love is not shared it can
become a worship of each other and narcissistic. Love, when shared,
becomes richer and more fulfilling. For love to grow the love between two
persons must be poured out of themselves into the world, in this case, a child,
representing the fruit of their love. So God gives us children in
marriage so that we can partake more deeply of the love of God.
Through the
raising of children they will learn how to make sacrifices, not for themselves
but for others. Lots of patience, perseverance and sacrifices are needed to
bring up children. When they are young, they need attention and love, not
just things and food. Parents will have to go through the process of
coming to terms with each other on how they want their children to be
raised. There will be times when children are sick or are going through
teenage angst. All these require much giving and perseverance in
love. In the process, the parents expand their hearts to love more and
more, even when their children are ungrateful to them or take them for granted
in later years. But if they teach their children well and are great
mentors in love for their children, by the grace of God, their children will
add joy and blessings to their lives.
Yet, this
cannot be an end to having children. In God’s plan, every child has a
mission too.
They are not toys or social security for parents to be used and abused.
Children in the final analysis belong to God and not to their parents.
They are just guardians and custodians of God’s children. The primary
task of parents is to help their children to fulfill their mission, their
vocation and their calling in life. The whole task of bringing up their
children is to help them to be prepared for the mission that the Lord has given
to them. Only when that is done could we then say that we have
fulfilled our role as parents. Otherwise, we have failed in our
responsibility, even if we have given them a good education and the good things
of life. We do not live for ourselves but for others and, most of
all, for God.
Indeed, this
was the case of the birth of Samson and John the Baptist to both couples who
were barren, with one couple long past the age of child bearing. God granted the
prayers of both couples with the gift of a baby but it is clear that He did not
give them a child for themselves per see but because He had a mission for both
of them. Samson was given to Manoah and his wife. The angel told
them, “It is he who will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the
Philistines.” Samson was given for the sake of the people of Israel who
were oppressed by the Philistines. God was answering the prayer of
Israel, not just that of Manoah and his wife. He had a plan for
Samson to be the deliverer of Israel.
Similarly,
John the Baptist was given to Zechariah and Elizabeth in their old age.
God too had a mission for him. He was not given to them primarily, but again for the sake
of Israel and most of all, to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. The
angel said, “Even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit, and he will bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their
God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the
hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom
that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.”
John the Baptist’s task was to deliver people from their sins and to be the
forerunner of the Messiah.
Like Samson
and John the Baptist, we must also consecrate our children to the service of
God.
Samson was forbidden to take “wine or strong drink.” He was to “eat
nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his
head, for the boy shall be God’s Nazirite from his mother’s womb.” So too
was John the Baptist. The angel said, “He will be great in the sight of
the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink.” And just as Abraham offered
Isaac to the Lord, so too Hannah, who was barren for many years, left Samson at
the temple to serve God as a priest when he was still young. Indeed, we
are all trustees of God’s children.
Every child
who is baptized is consecrated to God for His mission. We should not think that
good parents are those who help their children to be successful in life; doing
well in their studies, building a great career and becoming rich and
famous. This is too inward-looking and self-centered. It is
about them, not about others. Rather, it is how we raise them up to be
people who serve the Church and society that will determine whether they will
find fulfillment and real happiness in life. We do not exist for
ourselves but for humanity. We are born for a mission. Unless we
help them to fulfill their mission in serving God and society, even if they are
successful but live for themselves alone, we would have failed miserably
because they will not find the joy and meaning of life.
In order to
help our young children to walk the path of God, as parents we must be close to
God, like Zechariah and Elizabeth. “Both were worthy in the sight of God, and scrupulously
observed all the commandments and observances of the Lord.” Unless as parents
we are walking the ways of the Lord and listening to Him, how can we help our
children to discern their calling in life? How can we be good mentors to
them in terms of faith, service and love? Today, children need witnesses
and mentors more than teachers. God-fearing and loving parents will form
children who are God-fearing and loving as well. We teach them how to
love and give, first by loving each other as spouses and loving them
unconditionally. This explains why we need to cooperate with God’s
grace. Raising up our children according to the will of God is not an
easy responsibility. But with God’s grace, it is not impossible. In
both scripture readings, we read of the work of God and the power of the Holy
Spirit to bring life. We too must trust in the Holy Spirit and in
the promise of divine assistance of God to bring up our children to be serving
and compassionate people.
So for those
who do not have children, and you desire to have children, let us pray to God
in faith and in trust. But we must pray with the right intention, that we do not have
children to keep them for ourselves but to be consecrated and given for the
service of God and the world. If we are asking for the right intention,
the Lord can make us fertile and produce wonderful children for the good of
humanity. Let us trust in the impossible. And even if He
does not give us a baby, just trust that God knows what is best for us.
We can still be equally happy by giving ourselves, our time and our love in
service to others, just like priests and religious do. Happiness is found
in consecrating our lives to the service of God and our fellowmen.
Regardless of whether we have children or not, all life is reducible to loving
and giving. So long as we give of ourselves, we will always find meaning
and purpose in life. God will reward us in other ways. When we give
ourselves to society, we could also say, “it has pleased him to take away the
humiliation I suffered among men.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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