20181211
COMFORT MY PEOPLE
11 DECEMBER,
2018, Tuesday, 2nd Week, Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 40:1-11 ©
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Consolations from the heart of Jerusalem
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‘Console my people, console them’
says your God.
‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem
and call to her
that her time of service is ended,
that her sin is atoned for,
that she has received from the hand of the
Lord
double punishment for all her crimes.’
A voice cries, ‘Prepare in the wilderness
a way for the Lord.
Make a straight highway for our God
across the desert.
Let every valley be filled in,
every mountain and hill be laid low.
Let every cliff become a plain,
and the ridges a valley;
then the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed
and all mankind shall see it;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
A voice commands, ‘Cry!’
and I answered, ‘What shall I cry?’”
– ‘All flesh is grass
and its beauty like the wild flower’s.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on them.
(The grass is without doubt the people.)
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God remains for ever.’
Go up on a high mountain,
joyful messenger to Zion.
Shout with a loud voice,
joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Shout without fear,
say to the towns of Judah,
‘Here is your God.’
Here is the Lord coming with power,
his arm subduing all things to him.
The prize of his victory is with him,
his trophies all go before him.
He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,
gathering lambs in his arms,
holding them against his breast
and leading to their rest the mother ewes.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 95(96):1-3,10-13 ©
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Here is our God coming
with power.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the
earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim his help day by day.
Here is our God coming
with power.
Tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the
peoples.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
He will judge the peoples in
fairness.
Here is our God coming
with power.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,
let the sea and all within it
thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood
shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
Here is our God coming
with power.
With justice he will rule the world,
he will judge the peoples with
his truth.
Here is our God coming
with power.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Come, Lord! Do not delay.
Forgive the sins of your people.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The day of the Lord is near;
Look, he comes to save us.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 18:12-14 ©
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The one lost sheep gives him more joy
than the ninety-nine that did not stray
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Tell me.
Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the
ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly,
if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not
stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one
of these little ones should be lost.’
COMFORT MY PEOPLE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 40:1-11; MT18:12-14 ]
So often, in our misery
and pain, we think that God does not care. Some of us, because of our sins, think that God
is angry with us and is taking revenge by punishing us. This explains why
some people turn away from God because they feel that God does not love them
anymore. But such a perception is completely just the opposite of
the truth. Today’s scripture readings present to us a God of compassion,
a God who reaches out to us, a God who desires to console, strengthen and
encourage us.
In the first reading, the prophet, speaking
to the Israelites in exile soon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
assured them that there would be a new exodus and after the time of
their punishment, they would return. “Here is the Lord coming with
power, his arm subduing all things to him. The prize of his victory is with
him, his trophies all go before him.” God assured the people that the
sufferings they were going through would purify and strengthen them. Then they
would return triumphant to Jerusalem after conquering their enemies. And
then they would see once again the majesty of God’s glory revealed and all
flesh would see the salvation of God.
Indeed, God showed how much He
loved His people and never stopped loving them. The text of today’s
first reading reveals the deep compassion of God. Even in our sin and
misery, the Lord wants to console His people. When parents discipline
their children, the pain that is afflicted on their children is doubly more
painful for the parents. Which parent wants to hurt his or her flesh and
blood? That is true for God as well. He addressed us as His
people and He is our God. He calls us “Zion”, a feminine term to convey
His love and tenderness of His people. When He sees us suffering, He
suffers even more because it hurts God to see us hurting ourselves, just as it
hurts us when our loved ones suffer.
Most of all, He comes as
a shepherd. “He is like a
shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against
his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes.” The image of
a shepherd combines both strength and tenderness because a shepherd must be
strong enough to defend the sheep from the attacks of the enemies but at the
same time, the shepherd is all tenderness when dealing with his sheep.
The Lord as our shepherd, therefore, seeks to protect the vulnerable sheep
that are under oppression, persecution, injustice. The shepherd
goes out to find the lost sheep, those who are confused and wounded in life;
those who have strayed and walked the wrong path. And when he finds them,
what great joy he experiences!
Indeed, Jesus is the
Good Shepherd.
He is the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah in the first reading. Jesus
as the Good Shepherd comes to heal us, to teach us the right way, to forgive us
our sins, to reconcile us with God and to deliver us from all oppression, of
injustices and of the Evil One. He is particularly interested in the
individual. He takes care of each one of us personally and individually,
reaching out to us. His attitude is that of the shepherd who “has a
hundred sheep and when one of them strays”, he goes “in search of the
stray.” He shares the same sentiment as any shepherd when He
describes the joy of God in bringing back even of the little ones. He
said, “I tell you solemnly, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the
ninety-nine that did not stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of
your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”
We who have received the
consolation from God are called to do the same. St Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we
may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with
which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in
Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort
too.” (2 Cor 1:3-5)
How, then, do we comfort
our people? How do we console them?
Firstly, we need to
identify with them in their sufferings. People are judgmental or indifferent to
the sufferings of others because they are too absorbed in their own lives and
their needs. They are always thinking about their interests and
needs. They are too inward-looking. What we need to do is to follow
the Good Shepherd in reaching out, feeling and empathizing with the sick, the
wounded, the oppressed and those suffering from hunger and injustices.
When we feel with them in their struggles and recognize our own brokenness in
them, only then does compassion happen. When we are one with our
fellowmen in their sufferings, our humanity will cause us to reach out to them
and to help them.
Secondly, like the Good
Shepherd, we must reach out to them to heal, to console and to encourage
them. There
are many people who need to hear words of encouragement from us. Many
seek to see the face of God through our love, patience and kindness for
them. In a world where love is so conditional and at times
insincere, we are called to give hope to them by showing them the unconditional
and compassionate love of Christ and His mercy. Through the works of
compassion, forgiveness and service especially to the suffering, the lonely and
the abandoned, those who are worried about their finances and their loved ones,
we can be there for them.
How can we help them to
find courage and strength in their sufferings? We must enlighten them
that they should not see their sufferings as God taking revenge on them or that
He is withdrawing His love.
On the contrary, the letter to the Hebrews tells us that it is because He loves
us that He disciplines us. “‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline
of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord
disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for
what son is there whom his father does not discipline? … For the moment
all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful
fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:5-7, 11)
Thirdly, we must take the opportunity to
help them see which mountain and hill are preventing them from looking at life
in the right perspective. Quite often the mountain and hill
symbolizes our pride and ambition in life. Our pride hinders us from
recognizing our mistakes and limitations. We think too highly of
ourselves and we want to control every situation in life. Our pride makes
us stubborn, opinionated, self-willed and presumptuous, so much so that we
cannot live or get on well with others. Pride causes us to hurt
others and also the cause of our refusal to forgive or ask forgiveness.
At times, our ambition and desire for wealth, power and success blind us to the
more important matters of life, namely, our family, God and our friends.
Fourthly, the valley
refers to our low self-esteem.
Some of us cannot forgive ourselves. We do not love ourselves
enough. We think so poorly of ourselves and always condemn
ourselves. As a consequence, we are also negative towards others, envious
of them and possessive of our loved ones. For such people, we need to
give them encouragement. Instead of putting down our children because of
their failure or, conversely, our colleagues when they are successful, we must
affirm and encourage them. Helping people to accept their
weaknesses, their mistakes and themselves is the first step towards healing and
restoration.
Finally, we must assure
them that there is no mountain, hill or valley that the Lord cannot transcend
and overcome. The psalmist
assures us, “Here is our God coming with power. Tell among the nations his
glory and his wonders among all the peoples. Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is
king.’ He will judge the peoples in fairness.” Indeed, our God will come
with power to restore His kingdom and His rule on earth. He will
subdue all His enemies.
Regardless how difficult or hopeless our
situation may be in our eyes, yet the Lord assures us as He did to the exiles
in Babylon that nothing remains the same. Even the most invincible army
like the Babylonians would be overcome. Indeed, only the Word of God, His
truth and love prevail in the end. So whilst human beings, creatures and
creation are mortal, God is not. So we must just surrender our
lives to Him, knowing that He is in charge. All He asks of us is to
repent, atone for our sins and turn back to Him for He wants to bring us to the
green pasture where there is security, peace, unity and love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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