20181207
DO YOU BELIEVE?
07 DECEMBER,
2018, Friday, 1st Week, Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Isaiah 29:17-24 ©
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In a very short time, the deaf will hear
and the eyes of the blind will see
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The Lord says this:
In a short time, a very short time,
shall not Lebanon become fertile land
and fertile land turn into forest?
The deaf, that day,
will hear the words of a book
and, after shadow and darkness,
the eyes of the blind will see.
But the lowly will rejoice in the Lord
even more
and the poorest exult in the Holy One of
Israel;
for tyrants shall be no more, and scoffers
vanish,
and all be destroyed who are disposed to
do evil:
those who gossip to incriminate others,
those who try at the gate to trip the
arbitrator
and get the upright man’s case dismissed
for groundless reasons.
Therefore the Lord speaks,
the God of the House of Jacob,
Abraham’s redeemer:
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale,
for he shall see what my hands have done
in his midst,
he shall hold my name holy.
They will hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
stand in awe of the God of Israel.
Erring spirits will learn wisdom
and murmurers accept instruction.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 ©
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The Lord is my light and
my help.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my light and
my help.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
The Lord is my light and
my help.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
The Lord is my light and
my help.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Is45:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Send victory like a dew, you heavens,
and let the clouds rain it
down.
Let the earth open and bring forth the
saviour.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Behold, our Lord will come with power
and will enlighten the eyes of his
servants.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 9:27-31 ©
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'Take care that no-one learns about
this'
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As Jesus went on his way two blind men
followed him shouting, ‘Take pity on us, Son of David.’ And when Jesus reached
the house the blind men came up with him and he said to them, ‘Do you believe I
can do this?’ They said, ‘Sir, we do.’ Then he touched their eyes saying, ‘Your
faith deserves it, so let this be done for you.’ And their sight returned. Then
Jesus sternly warned them, ‘Take care that no one learns about this.’ But when
they had gone, they talked about him all over the countryside.
DO YOU BELIEVE?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 29:17-24; MT 9:27-31 ]
Do you believe? This is what God is asking of
us. Indeed, in the first reading, to the Israelites who lived in exile in
Babylon who had lost everything – land, the Kingdom and the Temple – the Lord
says to them, “In a short time, a very short time, shall not Lebanon become fertile
land and fertile land turn into forest? The deaf that day, will hear the
words of a book and, after shadow and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.
But the lowly will rejoice in the Lord even more and the poorest exult in the
Holy One of Israel; for tyrants shall be no more, and scoffers vanish, and all
be destroyed who are disposed to do evil: those who gossip to incriminate
others, those who try at the gate to trip the arbitrator and get the upright
man’s case dismissed for groundless reasons.” Is this dream
possible? Truly, the Israelites found it too difficult to believe that
this prophecy would come true. Again, in the gospel, Jesus asked the same
question to the two blind men, “Do you believe I can do this?”
Indeed, many of us are
like them in exile.
We too are desperate and walking in the shadow of death. The situation in
our life does not seem to be moving forward or changing. We are still
stuck in our problems or the mess we have created because of our
folly. Our marriage is now on the rocks. We are still unable
to accept the infidelity of our spouse even though he or she has asked for
forgiveness. We say we want to forgive but we are still
hurting. Our children are not doing well in their studies and abusing
the trust and privileges given to them. Many people, young and old, are
addicted to drugs, gambling, especially online gambling, pornography, and
drinking. On top of all these problems, we are struggling with work
politics, low morale among our staff, health issues, physical or mental,
depression and meaninglessness. Some of us wish we could die earlier
because we are sick of life, of this world. Friends are not real.
They cheat us and make use of us. With financial commitments,
anxieties about the future, and all the confusion in life, we feel so
overwhelmed.
If we are feeling this
way, then do not give up hope. God is on the way to rescue us. This is what the prophet said,
“Therefore the Lord speaks, the God of the House of Jacob, Abraham’s Redeemer:
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale, for he
shall see what my hands have done in his midst, he shall hold my name holy.
They will hallow the Holy One of Jacob, stand in awe of the God of
Israel.” For Israel, they were finally able to return to their
homeland because of King Cyrus’ decree to allow them to return and rebuild
their homes and especially the Temple, with his support even, financially and
morally.
For us, Christ is our
Redeemer, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. He has come to set us free, to heal
us and redeem us from our sins, slavery, and misery. He is full of
compassion and mercy like our heavenly Father. He will give us back our
dignity and confidence in living our lives with purpose and meaning. He
will help us to overcome all fears. How will He help us? By showing
us the way to live our life meaningfully and courageously! He will show
us how to conquer the fear of death and most of all, how to bear our crosses
joyfully after Him. He will free us from all our bondage and give
us true freedom, the freedom to love freely and totally. He will help us
to live each day by living one day at a time, with faith and with joy. He
has come to give us the light for our salvation. This is what the psalmist
says. “The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink? I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take
heart. Hope in the Lord!” Indeed, this is the invitation today for those
who have lost hope and courage in life. Hope in the Lord! Come to
Him and He will heal us and give us life once again, in the land of the living.
How will this
happen? By delivering us from our blindness as He did for the two
blind men! It
is the lack of spiritual understanding that prevents us from seeing the
mysteries of life in perspective. Because of the dullness of mind and our
ignorance, we are shortsighted and too myopic in the way we look at our
challenges and sufferings. We need to ask what is causing us to be
unhappy. Most of the time, our sins, selfishness, and desires make us
grasp, hanker and cling on to what we want. This leads to envy, greed,
anger, and discontentment. At times, it is because of our pride,
the refusal to admit our mistakes and our prejudices. We allow our pride
to blind us in doing things that serve our ego rather than doing what is right
and good. By insisting on having things our way, which is the offspring
of pride, namely, arrogance and stubbornness, we hurt ourselves.
That is why Jesus is
asking us as He did with the blind men, “Do you believe I can do this?” In other words, He is asking, firstly,
whether we really want to see. There is a responsibility when we
see. It is said that ‘where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be
wise’. So the ability to see means that we have to do what we know is the
truth. Otherwise, we will suffer guilt for being culpable in not doing
the right things when we know that this is required of us. If we are
desperate and sincere like the blind men who really wanted to see, then we need
to follow Jesus as they did to the house where He was in.
But we cannot see
clearly unless we see with faith. This explains why the Church always says that whilst
faith is not against reason, faith purifies reason. Using human reason
alone, whilst not impossible, often will not lead us to the fullness of
truth. Faith gives us the eyes to see beyond reason. Faith enables
us to see more. Isn’t it true that when we trust someone, we can
understand that person better and see more in what he is saying than with
someone whom we do not trust or do not know? So if anyone wants to see,
he or she must first confess his or her faith in Jesus who is the Light of the
World, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Faith in Jesus will allow our
hearts to be receptive to His Word and understand what He is saying, not just
with our head but with our heart. Only such understanding from the heart
can bring about a total conviction of mind and heart.
To come to see means
that from now on, we see through the eyes of Jesus, whether it is with respect to suffering,
to living a life of truth or doing the will of God. In other words,
to see means to look at life with the lens of Jesus. With Jesus,
recovery of sight does not mean that our sufferings are taken away.
Rather, the pain could be embraced in the light of God’s truth and His own
suffering for us. In other words, we see sufferings, injustices, hurts,
and illnesses in a different light. Once we have the light of Christ,
then we will stop hurting ourselves by refraining from those actions that will
destroy us. We will then be able to let go of those who have hurt
us. We learn contentment and not crave for this and that
thing. We learn to let go even of loved ones and those whom we love
so dearly but who no longer love us. Like Jesus, we learn to accommodate
others, their strengths and weaknesses, not to be judgmental but to be
understanding, forgiving and encouraging. Most of all, with spiritual sight, we
can unravel all our unconscious motivations in what we do and why we do so that
our intentions are purer and not simply a cover-up of our insecurities, our
need for affirmation and acceptance, but truly because of love.
So we must pray
earnestly and be watchful. The
prophet says, “Erring spirits will learn wisdom and murmurers accept
instruction.” Seeing entails reading the Word of God and acquiring the
Wisdom of God to judge all things. We are called to place our total trust
in Jesus. Like the blind men, we only have to believe. Jesus says
to them, “Your faith deserves it, so let this be done for you.”
Only faith in Jesus can give us the courage to surrender our lives to Him,
trust in His Word and claim His promises. With faith in Jesus, we know
that He can work wonders in our lives. Nothing is impossible for Him.
With the psalmist, we too will say, “When
the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who
dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs
of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things
for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with
joy.” For the Israelites, it was simply unbelievable that they could
return to their homeland. It will be the same for us if we trust the
Lord. He will help us find ourselves and we will be at home with
ourselves, living a life of contentment, enjoying the simple things of
life, but most of all, living a life of love, meaning, and purpose.
Regardless of the situation, we are able to take His will and take things as
they come, for we know that submission to His will is the way we find peace.
Indeed, being at home with the Lord is what gives us joy and peace.
“There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the house of
the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to
behold his temple.” In His house, when He lives in us, we find perfect
peace and joy.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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