20171224 THE INCARNATION IS TO ALLOW GOD TO DWELL IN OUR HEARTS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16 ©
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Once David had settled into his house and the Lord had given him
rest from all the enemies surrounding him, the king said to the prophet Nathan,
‘Look, I am living in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwells in a tent.’
Nathan said to the king, ‘Go and do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is
with you.’
But that
very night the word of the Lord came to Nathan:
‘Go and tell
my servant David, “Thus the Lord speaks: Are you the man to build me a house to
dwell in? I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader
of my people Israel; I have been with you on all your expeditions; I have cut
off all your enemies before you. I will give you fame as great as the fame of
the greatest on earth. I will provide a place for my people Israel; I will
plant them there and they shall dwell in that place and never be disturbed
again; nor shall the wicked continue to oppress them as they did, in the days
when I appointed judges over my people Israel; I will give them rest from all
their enemies. The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House.
And when your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I
will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty
secure. I will be a father to him and he a son to me; if he does evil, I will
punish him with the rod such as men use, with strokes such as mankind gives. Your
House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne
be established for ever.”’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 88(89):2-5,27,29 ©
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I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever
and set up your throne through all ages.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
‘He will say to me: “You are my father,
my God, the rock who saves me.”
I will keep my love for him always;
with him my covenant shall last.’
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
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Second reading
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Romans 16:25-27 ©
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Glory to him who is able to give you the strength to live
according to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the
revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages, but now so clear that it
must be broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith.
This is only what scripture has predicted, and it is all part of the way the
eternal God wants things to be. He alone is wisdom; give glory therefore to him
through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Lk1:38
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the handmaid of the Lord:
let what you have said be done to me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 1:26-38 ©
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The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called
Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David;
and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly
favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and
asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary,
do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and
bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called
Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor
David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no
end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a
virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power
of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy
and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in
her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now
in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of
the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left
her.
24 DECEMBER, 2017, Sunday, 4th Week of Advent
THE INCARNATION IS TO ALLOW GOD TO DWELL IN OUR HEARTS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 SM 7:1-16; ROM 16:25-27; LK 1:26-38 ]
Tonight we will
be celebrating Christmas. For many of us, we have been celebrating
Christmas year after year. But why do we continue to celebrate
Christmas year after year? Has Christ not already been born? If
He has been born, is Christmas then merely a time of goodwill and peace for us,
as it is for most non-Christians? Or is Christmas a mere sentimental
memorial of the birth of Christ 2000 years ago? If that is so, we are
very poor and foolish people, because we are spending far too much time and
money for just a commemoration.
But this is the
reality. Many of us Christians are celebrating Christmas
merely as a sentimental memorial of the birth of Christ, or just an aspiration
for peace in our lives. We are not celebrating the reality of His birth –
the birth of Jesus in our hearts. Indeed, if we celebrate
Christmas again and again, it is not because Christ has not been born but
because He is still not born in our hearts. And precisely this
season of Advent is to prepare our hearts to receive Him, to allow Him to have
a niche in our lives, to let Him be born again in our hearts. It
is only when He is born in our hearts, that we will find real and everlasting
peace.
This, I believe
is the radical difference between the world and us Christians in the
celebration of Christmas. For the world, the baby Jesus is only a symbol
of their aspiration for peace. But because He is merely a symbol, the
effects of peace do not last. Once the presents are given, the parties
are over, people fall back to their selfish ways of living that destroy the
peace and unity they experienced at Christmas. Such kind of peace is
indeed short-lived.
Because, in the
first place, the world attempts to find peace by lording over others through
the use of power, strength and force. But this is not the real way to
peace in our lives. True peace comes about only when Jesus is the Lord
of our hearts and our lives. That is to say, to let God live in our
hearts. The scripture readings today make it clear that the only place
worthy for God to live in is the hearts of men. In Christ, God will at
last pitch His tent among men. This is the most important message of the
incarnation. That God chose to live in man so that we may find true peace
and happiness.
So what does
it mean to let God be the Lord of our lives? What does it mean to let Jesus
live in our hearts? Today, Mary shows us the way. Mary herself
is the temple of the living God. The gospel tells us that she was
overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. In other words, God had found in her His
dwelling, His Temple. I suppose that is the real reason for Mary’s
greatness. If God chose Mary’s womb to be the place where His Son was to
be incarnated, it was because Mary herself was already the living temple of
God. Indeed as the Church Fathers have always told us, Mary bore Jesus in
her heart before bearing Jesus in the flesh.
We might not
have the privilege of bearing Jesus in the flesh, but it does not mean that we
cannot give birth to Jesus in our hearts. And of the two, which is the
greater honour if not to bear Jesus in our hearts. For to bear Jesus
physically, is totally a free gift of God. To give birth to Jesus in our
hearts demands a greater co-operation from us. We have to cooperate with
God’s grace to respond to His invitation.
Yes, the
incarnation of God in Jesus Christ implies that God wants us to be His
co-partners in the salvation of the world. God wants to save the
world but not without us but in and through us. That is why God chose to
dwell in and among man. Therefore, today, we must ask ourselves whether
we are co-operating with God for the salvation of the world. The gospel
tells us that Mary co-operated with God by humbly doing His will, to be the
mother of Jesus Christ. Mary, as we know, was that person who said ‘Yes’
and saw it through. She lived up to her commitment. She was a
true mother to Jesus.
What about us?
If we claim that Jesus is the Lord of our lives, that Jesus lives in us, then
how are we living out our vocation in life? Proclaiming Jesus as the
Lord of our life does not mean merely proclaiming Him with our lips but more
importantly by our very being. It is to make Jesus felt and seen, not so
much heard. Consequently, the real proof of whether Jesus is the Lord of
our hearts is whether we are proclaiming Jesus in our daily lives, wherever we
are, and whoever we are. It means that we be the best student, the best
worker, the best son or daughter, the best choir member that we can possibly
be. If only each one does his job well, this world would be a better
place; if only each one does his duties responsibly, there would not be so much
pains and struggles.
When we live
up to our vocation responsibly, we then become the true presence of God in our
lives.
Isn’t this what the incarnation is all about: God living in man? So
the most important question is: can people see us as the dwelling place
of God? Do they see the love of Jesus in our hearts and in our lives?
Of course, we
are not saying that as Christians we do not encounter problems living out our
vocation.
We do. But like Jesus and Mary, we will find peace even with our problems
and struggles. For in the incarnation we know that God is eternally
committed to us. We need not fear. That was how Mary could
respond to God’s calling to be the mother of His son. Mary put her total
trust in God for she knew that God was committed to her life. She knew
that being the mother of God would not be easy, but not impossible. As
the angel Gabriel said: For God nothing is impossible. We too who
journey in faith, are called to respond more generously to God’s calling in our
own lives like Mary. By so doing we will find our fulfillment and
happiness. And this is what we mean when we say that we allow God to live
in our hearts.
And only
when others see Jesus incarnated in our lives, will the world then be truly
convinced that Jesus is indeed the Prince of Peace and not merely a symbol or a
hope. We must dispel the notion that Christmas, which is a time of
peace and goodwill, is just a wishful thinking or a temporary affair but a
reality. Yes, we proclaim Jesus as our Prince of Peace not with our
words but simply with our lives, like Mary. People will believe that
Jesus is indeed the Prince of Peace if only they see Jesus as the Lord of our
hearts.
As we approach
Christmas, we must ask ourselves: Do we let God dwell in our hearts
more and more each day? Are we more loving each day? Are we living
our lives more fully each day? Are we becoming more human each day?
We will be like that only if Jesus lives in us. For in Jesus we see the
true man and the true God. Yes, we are at the threshold of Christmas. If
Jesus is not becoming more real in us already, then no miracle is going to
happen at Christmas. Christmas is meaningful only for those who prepare for
it. If not, it will be just another day. And even if we have peace,
it will only be for just a few hours.
But for
us Christians, Christmas is celebrated only because of the fact that Jesus is
the Lord of our lives. That is why Easter, not Christmas, remains the
principal feast of the Church. Without the resurrection of Christ, the birth of
Jesus would be just like any other birth, and carry not much
significance. But because we believe that Jesus is God through His
resurrection that His incarnation, that is to say, His dwelling among us
becomes important. And concretely, it means that to celebrate Christmas
is also to celebrate His resurrection: for in both instances, we want to make
Jesus the Lord of our hearts and our lives. We want Jesus to be born in
us, more and more each day.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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