20181219
HELPING OUR CHILDREN
TO FULFIL THEIR VOCATION IN LIFE
19 DECEMBER,
2018, Wednesday, 3rd Week, Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Judges 13:2-7,24-25 ©
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'You will conceive and bear a son'
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There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of
Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren, she had borne no children. The angel
of the Lord appeared to this woman and said to her, ‘You are barren and have
had no child. But from now on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink,
and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to
touch his head, for the boy shall be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb. It
is he who will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines.’ Then
the woman went and told her husband, ‘A man of God has just come to me; his
presence was like the presence of the angel of God, he was so majestic. I did
not ask him where he came from, and he did not reveal his name to me. But he
said to me, “You will conceive and bear a son. From now on, take no wine or
strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be God’s nazirite from
his mother’s womb to his dying day.”’
The
woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and the Lord
blessed him; and the spirit of the Lord began to move him.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 70(71):3-6,16-17 ©
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My lips are filled with
your praise, with your glory all the day long.
Be a rock where I can take refuge,
a mighty stronghold to save
me;
for you are my rock, my
stronghold.
Free me from the hand of the wicked.
My lips are filled with
your praise, with your glory all the day long.
It is you, O Lord, who are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, since my
youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth,
from my mother’s womb you have
been my help.
My lips are filled with
your praise, with your glory all the day long.
I will declare the Lord’s mighty deeds
proclaiming your justice,
yours alone.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders
still.
My lips are filled with
your praise, with your glory all the day long.
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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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Gospel
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Luke 1:5-25 ©
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'Your wife Elizabeth will bear a son'
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In the days of King Herod of Judaea there
lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the
priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of
Aaron. Both were worthy in the sight of God, and scrupulously observed all the
commandments and observances of the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth
was barren and they were both getting on in years.
Now
it was the turn of Zechariah’s section to serve, and he was exercising his
priestly office before God when it fell to him by lot, as the ritual custom
was, to enter the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of
incense the whole congregation was outside, praying.
Then
there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar
of incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But
the angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been
heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John. He
will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be
great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink. Even
from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will
bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit
and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers
towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous
have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.’
Zechariah
said to the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is
getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel who stand in God’s
presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.
Listen! Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at their
appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has
happened.’ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised
that he stayed in the sanctuary so long. When he came out he could not speak to
them, and they realised that he had received a vision in the sanctuary. But he
could only make signs to them, and remained dumb.
When
his time of service came to an end he returned home. Some time later his wife
Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept to herself. ‘The Lord has
done this for me’ she said ‘now that it has pleased him to take away the
humiliation I suffered among men.’
HELPING OUR CHILDREN TO FULFIL THEIR
VOCATION IN LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JUDGES 13:2-7,24-25; LUKE 1:5-25]
In both scripture
readings today, we have two couples who were childless. In those days, it
was deemed a curse to be without children. A woman who was married and unable to conceive
was considered to be less than a woman. It was such a humiliation.
Having a child was always considered to be God’s blessing. The more
children the woman had, the greater the blessings of God. In fact, to be
barren was more than just being childless; it was a symbol of the lack of life
and fertility. Therefore, the barrenness of the two couples were also
indicative of the spiritual impoverishment of the people of Israel. They were
lacking a real relationship with the Lord, which led to the misery and
sufferings of the people. Without God, they led a life contrary to the
commandments of God and found themselves divided and not able to withstand
their enemies.
Why were children
considered a great blessing of God? Firstly, in the time of the Old
Testament, the idea of resurrection was still not in the mind of the
Israelites. They
thought that with their death, they entered into nothingness. So children
were the extension of what they believed and who they were. They
immortalized the life of their parents. They perpetuated the legacy of
their parents. This was true in many races as well. Parents found
their fulfillment and place in their children. Children often took after
the trade or profession of their parents. That is why many parents prefer
male children to continue their family name.
Secondly, children were
their insurance for old age. The elderly were well looked after because their
children lived with them even when they were married. This provided
financial stability for the family. Most of all, they would be well
looked after in their old age. However, it is also good to note that in the
bible, 70 years was considered a long life. It was a blessing to live
until 70 years because most died much younger because of poor healthcare.
However, if we see
children in this way, then we have a very narrow and self-centered view of the
reason why God gives us children. Of course, when God gives us children, they are meant
to help us to grow in love and find meaning as we care and nurture them.
Nevertheless, our children are not our property to be used for ourselves.
They are not to be seen as our social security or even as an investment for our
old age. We do not own our children. This is unfortunately the
attitude of most parents. They think their children belong to them and
they own them. If they are our property, we can do with them as we
like. We can order them to do things to satisfy our interests and our
needs. But when we treat them as such, they become more like our slaves
than our children.
The truth is that
children primarily belong to God. “Know
that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are
his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” (Ps 100:3) Parents must be reminded that
the children that God gave them do not belong to them. We all belong to
God. Parents are just guardians on behalf of God to help them grow to
become true children of God. God entrusts the children to our care so
that we can look after them, help them to grow and fulfil their vocation in
life. In his encyclical, Populorum Progressio, Pope Paul VI wrote, “it is
the design of God that man develops and fulfills himself, for life itself is a
vocation.” Our task as parents is not to impose our will and selfish
ambitions on our children but to help them find their vocation in life so that
they can serve God and humanity. Indeed, parents cannot be selfish and keep
their children for themselves.
Our great joy as parents
is to consecrate our children to God and to humanity. This explains why in the Old
Testament, parents had to offer the first-born child or even animal back to
God. In other words, they must be consecrated for God’s service. This was
what Manoah and his wife did, and so did Zechariah and Elizabeth when they gave
birth to Samson and John respectively. Manoah and his wife were told,
“Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive
and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy shall be God’s
Nazirite from his mother’s womb.” A Nazirite is one who takes a vow to
dedicate himself for the service of God.
In fact, the angel told
them of God’s mission for their children. God has a plan for everyone of us as
He did for Samson and John the Baptist. Samson was to begin the process
of rescuing “Israel from the power of the Philistines.” In those days,
the Philistines were the strongest warriors as they were more numerous and had
better weapons. They were the major enemy of Israel and a threat to
them. Of course, only during the time of David, the Philistines were
crushed completely. (cf 2 S Sm 8) But it was important that Samson
began the task of fighting against the Philistines. So too, the angel
told Zechariah of the mission of John the Baptist. “He will be your joy
and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight
of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink. Even from his mother’s
womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the
sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he
will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the
disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a
people fit for him.” It is important to take note that their mission was
not for themselves but for the good of the people of God and humanity.
They were not chosen even for the sake of their parents or to serve them.
Rather, the parents were to offer them for the service of God.
Clearly, God has a
mission for each one of us in life. We all have our vocation. A vocation means that it is a call
from without, a call from God. Self-fulfillment in life can only be found
in God who is the ultimate goal of every human person. To fulfill
ourselves, we must seek to do what the Lord has planted in our hearts.
Indeed, we read that “the child grew, and the Lord blessed him; and the spirit
of the Lord began to move him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and
Eshtaol.” That God stirred the heart of Samson is what a vocation
is all about because He has planted in us a desire to do something. That
is why we speak of a calling, a call that comes through circumstances,
hereditary gifts, existential needs, talents and the cry from without. If
this is one’s call, then the individual must respond accordingly. The parents’
task is to discern with their children to answer to the voice of God.
This is where parents
must be God-fearing themselves, like the two couples in today’s scripture
readings. Parents
must have faith in God. Unless parents are God-fearing and see themselves
as being entrusted with the responsibility of raising their children to serve
God and humanity, they will only mold their children to be self-centered,
caring only for themselves, making themselves rich and successful. Most
parents want their children to do well, which means getting a prestigious job
that pays well and can benefit themselves. But vocation and
self-fulfillment come from fulfilling God’s will and His divine plan for
us. All vocation is at the service of His people. It is in giving
ourselves according to our talents and charism that we find our happiness in
life.
We must be ready to
sacrifice our children for the service of God and humanity so that they can
find their fulfillment and happiness. Let our children be a blessing to us by being a
blessing to the world. The greatest pride parents could have is to see
their children making a difference in the lives of others. With the
psalmist we all can say, “My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory
all the day long. ” There is no greater joy in life than to know that our
children are continuing our spirit of giving, serving and loving God and our
fellowmen. This is the key to fullness of life, otherwise we are
short-changing their happiness.
When we help our
children to realize themselves, they too will be grateful to God and to us. They too can make this prayer their
own. “It is you, O Lord, who are my hope, my trust, O Lord, since my
youth. On you I have learned from my birth, from my mother’s womb you
have been my help. I will declare the Lord’s mighty deeds proclaiming your
justice, yours alone. O God, you have taught me from my youth and I
proclaim your wonders still.” They will thank us for giving them not just
a life or an academic degree but most of all, teaching them to live their life
to the fullest.
There is also a warning
that we will be struck dumb if we fail to help our children to find their
vocation in life.
Like Zechariah, he was struck dumb because he failed to trust in God’s power
and ability to do good. The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel who stand
in God’s presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good
news. Listen! Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at
their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until
this has happened.” Let us not be silent but be able to sing praise
to God and our fellowmen because our children have become a blessing to the
world. In this way, their birth into this world would not be a life given
in vain but life-giving to others.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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