20181222
CHRISTMAS IS TO HAND
OVER OUR LIFE TO THE LORD
22 DECEMBER,
2018, Saturday, 3rd Week, Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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1 Samuel 1:24-28 ©
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This is the child I prayed for: he is
made over to the Lord.
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When Hannah had weaned the infant Samuel,
she took him up with her together with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour
and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the temple of the Lord at Shiloh;
and the child was with them. They slaughtered the bull and the child’s mother
came to Eli. She said, ‘If you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the
woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. This is the child I
prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make him over to
the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.’
There
she left him, for the Lord.
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Responsorial Psalm
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1 Samuel 2:1,4-8 ©
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My heart exults in the
Lord my Saviour.
My heart exults in the Lord.
I find my strength in my God;
my mouth laughs at my enemies
as I rejoice in your saving
help.
My heart exults in the
Lord my Saviour.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the weak are clothed with
strength.
Those with plenty must labour for bread,
but the hungry need work no
more.
The childless wife has children now
but the fruitful wife bears no
more.
My heart exults in the
Lord my Saviour.
It is the Lord who gives life and death,
he brings men to the grave and
back;
it is the Lord who gives poverty and
riches.
He brings men low and raises
them on high.
My heart exults in the
Lord my Saviour.
He lifts up the lowly from the dust,
from the dungheap he raises
the poor
to set him in the company of princes
to give him a glorious throne.
For the pillars of the earth are the
Lord’s,
on them he has set the world.
My heart exults in the
Lord my Saviour.
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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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Or:
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Alleluia, alleluia!
King of the peoples
and cornerstone of the Church,
come and save man,
whom you made from the dust of the earth.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 1:46-56 ©
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The Almighty has done great things for
me
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Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the
Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly
handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations
will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for
me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for
those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their
thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things,
the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his
servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our
ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his
descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three
months and then went back home.
CHRISTMAS IS TO HAND OVER OUR LIFE TO
THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 SAMUEL 1:24-28; LUKE 1:46-56 ]
As we approach nearer to
Christmas, the liturgy focuses on the theme of joy. So what do we mean when we speak of the
joy of the gospel? What is Christmas joy? All the scripture readings
today recount the joy of those who encountered the Lord’s mercy and power.
In the first place, we
see the mercy and compassion of God in the way He responded to the prayers of
Hannah. She was
then barren, and the Lord gave her the grace to conceive Samson, taking away
her shame and humiliation. This was something totally unexpected and
indeed a gracious act of God. This is what the psalmist says. “He lifts up the
lowly from the dust, from the dungheap. He raises the poor to set him in
the company of princes to give him a glorious throne.” That our God comes
for the lowly and the poor is most consoling. This God we worship is a
God who has a special preferential love for the poor and the needy.
Consider those times when we were down and out, but the Lord came to our help,
whether because of the mistakes we have made in our life or at work, or when we
faced financial or personal difficulties.
Secondly, we see the
power of God at work in our lives.
That Elizabeth was able to conceive John the Baptist in her old age was indeed
a miraculous act of God. What was thought impossible happened, as Mary
summed up in the Magnificat, “He has shown the power of his arm, he has routed
the proud of heart. He has pulled down princes from their thrones and
exalted the lowly.” Indeed, the psalmist declares, “It is the Lord who gives
life and death, he brings men to the grave and back; it is the Lord who gives
poverty and riches. He brings men low and raises them on high.”
Whenever we experience a
divine intervention in the events of our daily life, we cannot but be filled
with joy, especially when He
intervenes on behalf of the poor and the lowly, those despised by the world.
Indeed, we know that there are so many occasions when we feel the
situation is hopeless; an incurable illness, children who are wayward and
failing in school, or someone difficult to work with in the office, yet the
Lord intervenes to bring about a change of attitudes and events.
What is important to
take note is that this joy that Mary, Elizabeth and John the Baptist
experienced was not a joy that came from this world. It was a joy that came from
on high, from the graciousness of God. Salvation is not man’s doing but
primarily the work of God in and through us. The incarnation reminds us
that we are saved not by our good works or by our efforts but by the power of
God. True joy must come from God. It comes from encountering His love and
mercy and His power at work in our lives. That is why the joy that comes
from God is liberating, fulfilling, amazing and life-changing. It brings
true peace. This is because God is the source and the origin of that joy.
Human joy is just the
opposite. Human
joy is not necessarily bad, but because it comes from the human heart and that
of this world, it tends to be transient. It ends
as soon as it finishes. It is not
lasting. Anything not enduring is not godly joy, as when you attend a
party, eat good food, receive a gift or when you are successful in your
projects, work or studies. Such joys are not necessarily evil, unless
they are immoral. However, the point is that they do not last as they are
passing and transient. True joy therefore cannot be our own creation.
True joy comes in the
final analysis in meeting Jesus, the love of God made present. In encountering Jesus, we cannot
but be filled with joy. We can therefore understand the joy of Mary for
experiencing this indescribable joy of the Son of God dwelling in her
womb. Contemplating on this joy of knowing that Jesus is within her is
the cause of the Magnificat that she sang in thanksgiving. Indeed,
with Jesus, there is nothing else to fear. The Magnificat recounts the
greatness and mercy of God, especially for the poor and the undeserving.
God has come for the lowly and the humble of society. It speaks about
God’s fidelity to His promises made to our father Abraham. God is
faithful and reliable. The coming of the Messiah therefore spelt great
hope for the people of Israel. The joy of deliverance, redemption and
victory over sin and their enemies was the cause of great joy.
What about us? How
do we know we have encountered true joy? The first sign is that of
announcement. When
we meet the Lord, we cannot contain that joy, like Mary, Elizabeth and John the
Baptist. Joy was written all over their faces, in their entire
being. They could not keep the joy of encountering Christ in their
hearts. They expressed it in their lives, in their words, in their
feelings and in their prayers. Indeed, if it were a real and true
encounter, we too will become like Mary, going out of the way to announce the
joy of the gospel. So those who have a deep experience of God tend to be
reaching out and not turning in towards themselves. If there is nothing
to proclaim about God and what He has done for us in our life, then we have not
encountered Jesus. This joy is not faked, created or a pretense but comes
deep from within our hearts, of wanting to let people share our joy.
The second sign of
having encountered the Lord is an attitude of contemplation and thanksgiving to
God. This was the way
of Mary. The Magnificat is not just a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God
but it comes out of a deep contemplation as to what the conception of Jesus in
her womb meant for her and for the people of Israel. So too, Elizabeth
and John the Baptist sang the praises of thanksgiving to God for the wonderful
work He had done for them.
But the most important
sign is that of sacrifice. A true experience of God and the outcome of that joy
is also expressed in gratitude leading to sacrifice. We read in today’s
first reading how Hannah handed over her only child for the service of the
Lord. She said to Eli the priest, “‘If you please, my lord. As you live, my
lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. This is
the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make
him over to the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.’
There she left him, for the Lord.”
When we are truly
grateful and joyful, we give away what we have and what we received because we
know that what we have is a gift from God, given freely by Him. As such, we too are called to give
to others freely as well. Indeed, Jesus told us, freely received,
freely given. In the case of Hannah, she was ready to give her only
child to the Lord because she knew that the child was truly God’s gift to her.
Otherwise, which mother would hand over her child to the Lord for service in
His temple or church?
We would want to keep
our gifts for ourselves. If
we do that it means that we have missed out the real symbol of the gift that we
received from God and others. Gifts are but expressions of this joy of
encountering unconditional love. Gifts however are merely symbols of love,
inadequate as it might be. The gift is not the real thing but just an
attempt to express our love and appreciation when it is genuinely given from
the heart. As it is said, the gifts are secondary but what is important
is the thought that comes with it. Of course, what is more important is
what the thoughts are, are they sincere, genuine, real or just only customary
and superficial.
At the end of the day,
no gift can truly express the heart of the person, short of giving oneself
entirely. This
is what Christmas is all about. God gave us His only begotten
Son. Christ came to give Himself to us by emptying Himself first of His
divinity and then of His humanity by His death on the cross.
Hannah, Mary and Elizabeth too were called to give their sons, their only sons,
for the service of God and His people, and not keep them for themselves.
This is why some of us become priests and religious, to return the gift that we
have received. There are many people, young and old, who give their lives
to the Church. Their experience of God’s love and the joy in their hearts
made them give up their lives for others.
Why must we give away
the gift that we received? Why can’t we keep the gift for
ourselves? Because by not giving away what we received, we will delimit
the joy of partaking in God’s love and joy. A wise person gives away all he receives
to others, keeping little for himself except what he needs to live
on. By giving away what we have received, we retain both the
meaning of the gift and an added joy of sharing a gift with others.
Giving away the gift we have received does not mean that we lose the gift.
Rather, we retain the love that comes with the gift and that love cannot
be taken away.
Today, we are all called
to make ourselves a living sacrifice, like Jesus who offered His life for us.
This is what Christmas is all about, the giving of oneself to others. The Father gave up His only
begotten son for us. Christ gave Himself up in return. Hence,
we do not make this sacrifice alone but with Jesus, Mary and Elizabeth and the
whole Church. We give ourselves so that others can live. We live for
Jesus and His Church. Like Mary, it is not enough to sing our song of thanksgiving
and give glory to His name, but our whole life must be like that of Mary, truly
a sacrifice of thanksgiving so that His name will be kept holy and known for
all generations.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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