20171216
TREATING THE CALL TO PREPARE OUR HEARTS FOR
CHRIST SERIOUSLY
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4,9-12 ©
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The prophet Elijah arose like a fire,
his word flaring like a torch.
It was he who brought famine on the people,
and who decimated them in his zeal.
By the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens,
he also, three times, brought down fire.
How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah!
Has anyone reason to boast as you have?
Taken up in the whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses;
designated in the prophecies of doom
to allay God’s wrath before the fury breaks,
to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children,
and to restore the tribes of Jacob,
Happy shall they be who see you,
and those who have fallen asleep in love.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 79(80):2-3,15-16,18-19 ©
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Lord of hosts, bring us back; let your face
shine on us and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hear us,
shine forth from your cherubim throne.
O Lord, rouse up your might,
O Lord, come to our help.
Lord of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine
on us and we shall be saved.
God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted.
Lord of hosts, bring us back; let your face
shine on us and we shall be saved.
May your hand be on the man you have chosen,
the man you have given your strength.
And we shall never forsake you again;
give us life that we may call upon your name.
Lord of hosts, bring us back; let your face
shine on us and we shall be saved.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The day of the Lord is near;
Look, he comes to save us.
Alleluia!
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Or
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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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Gospel
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Matthew 17:10-13 ©
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As they came down from the mountain the disciples put this
question to Jesus, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?’
‘True;’ he replied ‘Elijah is to come to see that everything is once more as it
should be; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not
recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer
similarly at their hands.’ The disciples understood then that he had been
speaking of John the Baptist.
16 DECEMBER, 2017, Saturday, 2nd Week of Advent
TREATING THE CALL TO PREPARE OUR HEARTS FOR CHRIST SERIOUSLY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ECCL 48:1-4,9-11; PS 80:2-3,15-16,18-19; MT 17:10-13 ]
Elijah was
representative of the prophets whilst Moses was representative of the Law. This explains why both
Elijah and Moses appeared at the Transfiguration just before today’s gospel
periscope. (cf Mt 17:1-8) The book of Sirach praises the ideal prophet
in the person of Elijah. “The prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word
flaring like a torch. It was he who brought famine on them, and who decimated
them in his zeal. By the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens, he also,
three times, brought down fire. How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah!
Has anyone reason to boast as you have? – taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in
a chariot with fiery horses; designated in the prophecies of doom to allay
God’s wrath before the fury breaks.” And it ended with hope, “Happy shall
they be who see you, and those who have fallen asleep in love.” This was
the hope that the prophet Malachi told the people that Elijah would come again
to prepare for the day of the Lord. “Behold, I will send you Eli′jah the
prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will
turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to
their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.” (Mal 4:5f)
Hence, the
question ‘Has Elijah come’? This question was always in the minds of the
people as they were curious about the identity of John the Baptist. Right from the outset,
the people were already asking him, “Who are you? Are you Eli′jah? Are
you the prophet?” (cf Jn 1:20f)
He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the
way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (Jn 1:23)
In today’s gospel, after the Transfiguration experience where Elijah appeared
with Moses, the disciples again asked the same question, “Why do the scribes
say that Elijah has to come first?” The reply of Jesus was clear,
“’Elijah is to come to see that everything is once more as it should be;
however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him
but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer similarly at
their hands.’ The disciples understood then that he had been speaking of John
the Baptist.”
Indeed, they
all knew that John the Baptist was the Elijah that the prophet Malachi spoke
about. But
they were in self-denial. This was because they were not ready to accept
his message of repentance. We see this clearly in another incident when
Jesus was questioned about His authority. Jesus answered them, “’I also
will ask you a question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell
you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? From
heaven or from men?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, ‘From
heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ‘But if we say,
‘From men,’ we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a
prophet.’” (Mt 21:24-26)
Indeed, both
scripture readings focus on the ministry of both Elijah and John the
Baptist. In many instances, both were quite similar as prophets. Both were called to
prepare the hearts of the people to welcome the Messiah. Both were deeply
in love with God and passionate about preserving the purity of the faith.
Both were preachers of repentance. Both were courageous in speaking
out against morality and falsehood. Both had the audacity to reprimand
and confront the evil kings, Ahaz and Herod respectively. Both lived an
exemplary life of simplicity. Finally, both were conscious that they were
simply forerunners for someone greater that was to come. The Jewish
leaders all knew deep in their hearts that John the Baptist was the New Elijah
who was to come and prepare the way for the Lord.
Jesus
lamented at the inconsistencies of the religious leaders and the people. “But to what shall I
compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and
calling to their playmates, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed,
and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and
they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they
say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and
sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” (Mt 11:16-19)
As we prepare
for the coming of Christ, have we taken the call to repentance seriously? Have we heard John
the Baptist and Elijah calling us to have a change of heart? We cannot
truly welcome Christ into our hearts and be filled with His joy and peace if we
do not repent of our inconsistent lifestyle. We claim to be Christian
Catholics, but we do not take the gospel seriously. We do not live
a life of integrity. We can be attending mass faithfully but we do not
live out the gospel life. We are not much different from Herod who
enjoyed listening to John the Baptist but lacked the will to live in accordance
with his message. We need to remove the obstacles that hinder us from
welcoming the Lord into our hearts. What are some of these
obstacles to faith and repentance?
Firstly, the
lack of humility to acknowledge our need for repentance. The religious leaders
were not receptive to the message of John the Baptist, unlike the common
people. They tried to find all kinds of excuses and reasons to dismiss
John the Baptist as a prophet. What we need to do is to acquire the
humility of John the Baptist. He had no self-pretence. When asked
and pressured to identify himself, he said, “I am the voice of one crying in
the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.’
(Jn 1:23)
“I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he
who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
(Jn 1:26f)
John the Baptist was a man true to himself. He was true to his
conscience.
Secondly, in
our fear, we might also be responsible for killing the prophets of God. We know how difficult
it is to accept a prophet in our midst. A true prophet of God is always
unsettling to the establishment. Often, we use our authority to stifle
the alternative views of others because we fear that we might not be able to
handle them. This was the way of the religious leaders during the time of
Jesus. They not only killed the prophets before John the Baptist, but
they too disposed of John the Baptist and our Lord. Good prophets often
suffer at the hands of unjust people simply because they speak the truth.
It behooves us therefore to pray for humility to be receptive to views that
challenge our comfort zone.
Today, we are
also called not just to have a change of heart by acknowledging our need for
conversion but we are called to be like Elijah and John the Baptist, sharing in
their vocation to be forerunners and witnesses of Christ. The entire life of John was
to prepare for this mission. It was his vocation, a calling when he was
still in his mother’s womb. He was only concerned about making Jesus
known and to prepare a people to receive the Messiah. He was ready
to make way for Jesus. When the time came, he asked his disciples to
follow Him. He knew he was not the bridegroom. “The next day he saw
Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world’ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks
before me, for he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but for this I
came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’” (Jn 1:29-31)
We too must
lead people to Jesus in our vocation and according to our state of life. In our apostolate and
ministry, we must be careful that we do not make ourselves the focus of
attention. There are some people who serve in the Church but they want to
draw people to themselves rather than to the Lord. When we draw people to
us, they will leave empty and unfulfilled. But if they are drawn to the
Lord by our love and humility, they will be inspired by the Lord.
There is no better way to witness to the Lord than to try to live
our lives according to the gospel and the doctrines that we uphold. But
we cannot be great witnesses and forerunners for our Lord unless we too grow in
our interior life like Elijah and John the Baptist. Without His grace and
without growing in holiness, we cannot edify others by our lives.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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