20181216 GOD’S NEARNESS TO US IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
IS THE CAUSE OF OUR JOY
16 DECEMBER,
2018, Sunday, 3rd Week, Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Rose
or Violet.
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First reading
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Zephaniah 3:14-18 ©
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The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your
midst
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Shout for joy, daughter of Zion,
Israel, shout aloud!
Rejoice, exult with all your heart,
daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has repealed your sentence;
he has driven your enemies away.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your
midst;
you have no more evil to fear.
When that day comes, word will come to
Jerusalem:
Zion, have no fear,
do not let your hands fall limp.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a victorious warrior.
He will exult with joy over you,
he will renew you by his love;
he will dance with shouts of joy for you
as on a day of festival.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Isaiah 12 ©
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The rejoicing of a redeemed people
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Sing and shout for joy
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
Sing and shout for joy
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to
his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to
the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his
name.
Sing and shout for joy
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Sing a psalm to the Lord
for he has done glorious
deeds;
make them known to all the
earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the
Holy One of Israel.
Sing and shout for joy
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
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Second reading
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Philippians 4:4-7 ©
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The Lord is very near
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I want you to be happy, always happy in
the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be
evident to everyone: the Lord is very near.
There
is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God
for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much
greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ
Jesus.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Is61:1(Lk4:18)
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The spirit of the Lord has been given to
me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to
the poor.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 3:10-18 ©
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'Someone is coming who will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire'
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When all the people asked John, ‘What must
we do?’ he answered, ‘If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who
has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.’ There were tax
collectors too who came for baptism, and these said to him, ‘Master, what must
we do?’ He said to them, ‘Exact no more than your rate.’ Some soldiers asked
him in their turn, ‘What about us? What must we do?’ He said to them, ‘No
intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!’
A
feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to think
that John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all, ‘I baptise you
with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and
I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the
Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his
threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will
burn in a fire that will never go out.’ As well as this, there were many other
things he said to exhort the people and to announce the Good News to them.
GOD’S NEARNESS TO US IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
IS THE CAUSE OF OUR JOY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ZEPH 3:14-18; IS 12; PHIL 4:4-7; LK 3:10-18 ]
We all desire to be
happy and joyful. Who does not want to be happy in life? This too
is the desire of a Christian. St Paul wrote to the Philippians saying, “I want you
to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your
happiness.” Being a Christian is a call to happiness. Happiness
presupposes life, peace and joy. For that is what Jesus said to the
apostles, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Jn 10:10) “Peace I leave with you; my
peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your
hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (Jn 14:27) “Until now you have not asked
for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be
complete.” (Jn 16:24)
So, what is preventing
us from being happy? It
is our independence from God. We want to take charge of our lives without
His assistance and His grace. Our pride wants us to do things our
way. By supplanting the place of God, we have only ourselves to rely
on. This makes us always anxious and worried about the future. We
are afraid we might not have enough to take care of ourselves. We are
afraid of death, which for us is the end of everything. As a result, we
become selfish and defensive. We seek to grab as much as we can. We
consider all others as our competitors. Most of all, we use dishonest and
evil means to get what we want through lying, cheating, manipulation and
intimidation.
Our sins cut us from God
and our fellowmen. We lose our peace of mind. Our conscience is not at
peace. We are unsettled. We create enemies all around us. We
have no real friends because people fear us and distrust us. Our
friendships and relationships are superficial. We live in fear of our
wrongdoings being uncovered one day. We might be rich but we are always
living in anxiety. We have a comfortable bed to lie on but cannot sleep
at night because of guilt. This is the punishment that we impose upon
ourselves because of our pride and selfishness. This is what John the
Baptist warns us, “His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his
threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will
burn in a fire that will never go out.”
So if we want happiness
and true joy, we must turn away from sin and avoid punishing ourselves. This was what John the Baptist advised
those who came to him. He asked us to be generous and to practise charity
to all. “If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has
none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.” To the tax
collectors, he said to him, “Exact no more than your rate.” In other
words, just do your duty well but be honest, fair and have integrity. Do
not be greedy in overcharging those who pay taxes. To the soldiers,
he said, “No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!” In
other words, do not use your power to manipulate people for your own benefit
and enrichment. One should be contented with what is given.
In the final analysis, right living, not selfish and irresponsible living is
the way to find happiness and joy.
But we know that what we
will, we cannot do. Just knowing what we should do does not mean we can
do it. This
is what St Paul experienced as well. He shared with us his
struggles. “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I
want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I
agree that the law is good. But in fact, it is no longer I that do it, but
sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me,
that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I
do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if
I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells
within me.” (Rom 7:15-20) That
is why, whilst the preaching of John the Baptist was indeed correct, yet, it
did not give the people the power to do what they were supposed to do.
This explains the
difference between the baptism of John the Baptist and that of our Lord.
John’s baptism took away
sins through repentance and reformation. But it did not empower them to
live a good life except through their own effort. Whereas the baptism of
the Holy Spirit includes the bestowal of power and love symbolized by fire to
empower us to proclaim the Good News and live the life of Christ. We no
longer do it with our own strength but by the power of the Spirit of
Jesus. Indeed, this is how the Lord is near to us, as St Paul says.
Today, St Paul
encourages us to rejoice, even though he himself was in prison
suffering! If
we were in his shoes, we would be feeling disheartened and even
depressed. But St Paul was very positive and upbeat even in
suffering. What was the secret of his joy if not for the nearness
of God? His happiness was not determined by external
circumstances. Indeed, this is often the case. Happiness is not so
much what we have but the state of our interior disposition and attitude
towards life. That is why St Paul could later write, “I know what it is
to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all
circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry,
of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who
strengthens me.” (Phil 4:12f)
Indeed, because of
Christ, we know that God is near because He has forgiven us our sins. This is what the prophet said, “Shout for
joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! Rejoice, exult with all your heart,
daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your
enemies away. The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you have no
more evil to fear.” Our real enemies are our sins and the fear of death.
Jesus came for all, including the tax-collectors, the most hated people,
because they were greedy and dishonest; the Roman soldiers, the most hated
army, because they abused their power and authority, and the prostitutes, the
most despised people. God came to forgive us all. He came to offer
us friendship, fellowship and communion with Him. He came to eat and
drink with sinners.
He wants us to know that
we are the object of God’s joy and delight. “When that day comes, word will come
to Jerusalem; Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord
your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult with joy over
you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance with shouts of joy for you as
on a day of festival.” We are God’s beloved. This is concretely
experienced when the Holy Spirit, which is the love of God, is poured into our
hearts. (cf Rom 5:5) With the
victory of Christ over sin and death in the power of His resurrection, He, with
His Father, bestowed the Holy Spirit upon us all. “John declared before
them all, ‘I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more
powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will
baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
So let us rejoice in His
nearness and His presence in our lives. He comes to us in the Holy Spirit.
He comes to us through our brothers and sisters, if only we will open our arms
to welcome them. He comes to us when we are tolerant and able to
accommodate the imperfections of all. His nearness to us is the cause of
peace in our hearts and minds. Like the psalmist, we only have to
remember to give praise and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us.
That is why He comes to us in prayer, praise and thanksgiving. St Paul
wrote, “Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near. There
is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God
for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much
greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in
Christ Jesus.” Knowing that He is with us gives us joy and strength
to endure our sufferings and trials positively, as was the case with St
Paul. Just as He came to the aid of St Paul, the Lord will also come to
our help. With the psalmist, in faith, we also sing, “Truly, God is my
salvation, I trust, I shall not fear. For the Lord is my strength, my song, he
became my saviour. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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