20181210
HOPE IN A GOD OF
SURPRISES
10 DECEMBER,
2018, Monday, 2nd Week, Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 35:1-10 ©
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The return of the redeemed through the
desert
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Let the wilderness and the dry-lands
exult,
let the wasteland rejoice and bloom,
let it bring forth flowers like the
jonquil,
let it rejoice and sing for joy.
The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.
Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees
and say to all faint hearts,
‘Courage! Do not be afraid.
‘Look, your God is coming,
vengeance is coming,
the retribution of God;
he is coming to save you.’
Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened,
the ears of the deaf unsealed,
then the lame shall leap like a deer
and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy;
for water gushes in the desert,
streams in the wasteland,
the scorched earth becomes a lake,
the parched land springs of water.
The lairs where the jackals used to live
become thickets of reed and papyrus...
And through it will run a highway
undefiled
which shall be called the Sacred Way;
the unclean may not travel by it,
nor fools stray along it.
No lion will be there
nor any fierce beast roam about it,
but the redeemed will walk there,
for those the Lord has ransomed shall
return.
They will come to Zion shouting for joy,
everlasting joy on their faces;
joy and gladness will go with them
and sorrow and lament be ended.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
84(85):9-14(Advent) ©
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Look, our God is coming
to save us.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in
our land.
Look, our God is coming
to save us.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have
embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from
heaven.
Look, our God is coming
to save us.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its
fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his
steps.
Look, our God is coming
to save us.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Lk3:4,6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight,
and all mankind shall see the salvation of
God.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Alleluia, alleluia!
See, the king, the Lord of the world, will
come.
He will free us from the yoke of our
bondage.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 5:17-26 ©
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'Your sins are forgiven you: get up and
walk'
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Jesus was teaching one day, and among the
audience there were Pharisees and doctors of the Law who had come from every
village in Galilee, from Judaea and from Jerusalem. And the Power of the Lord
was behind his works of healing. Then some men appeared, carrying on a bed a
paralysed man whom they were trying to bring in and lay down in front of him.
But as the crowd made it impossible to find a way of getting him in, they went
up on to the flat roof and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles
into the middle of the gathering, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith he
said, ‘My friend, your sins are forgiven you.’ The scribes and the Pharisees
began to think this over. ‘Who is this man talking blasphemy? Who can forgive
sins but God alone?’ But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, made them this reply,
‘What are these thoughts you have in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to
say, “Your sins are forgiven you” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to
you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said
to the paralysed man – ‘I order you: get up, and pick up your stretcher
and go home.’ And immediately before their very eyes he got up, picked up what
he had been lying on and went home praising God.
They
were all astounded and praised God, and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have
seen strange things today.’
HOPE IN A GOD OF SURPRISES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isa 35:1-10; Ps 84:9-14; Lk 5:17-26 ]
Advent is a season of
hope. The
fact that Advent occurs during the winter season will help us to identify with
the mood and sentiments of the season. Winter is the most difficult
season in the Northern Hemisphere. It is cold and some places are
extremely windy. Life for the poor, the jobless and elderly who live on
the streets is very hard. Cumbered with continuous rain and sometimes
snowfall, it is miserable. The weather is gloomy and the days are
short. The trees are bare and no fruits are found. So we can
imagine how much people in Europe hope that winter would soon be over.
Even though we may not
be living in Europe, that does not preclude us from experiencing our own
winter. Many
of us are just like the Israelites who were in exile and had lost all their
land, temple and kingdom. Like them, we feel hopeless,
especially when we are having difficulty making ends meet with the numerous
bills we have to pay, the arrears we owe, because we are sick or have lost our
jobs. We are worried about sustaining and maintaining our homes and
family and taking care of our medical needs. Indeed, life can be very
trying. Otherwise, we might be paralyzed like the man in the gospel,
by our past, our sins and mistakes. We cannot forgive ourselves for the
mistakes we have made. Now we are suffering the consequences of our
guilt, inability to forgive, fears which prevent us from moving forward.
In such situations, when
everything seems hopeless, what else can we do except to hope in God’s
grace? Having done all we humanly could, we can only turn to God
for His mercy and grace. So
long as we have hope, we can carry on with life, even if it is just a silver
lining on the cloud. God is our hope. This is what the season of
Advent is assuring us. Through Isaiah, the prophet, the Lord said,
“Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees and say to all faint
hearts, ‘Courage! Do not be afraid. ‘Look, your God is coming, vengeance is
coming, the retribution of God; he is coming to save you.'”
How can we find courage
when we are faced with problems that seem so insurmountable and overwhelming on
all sides? The
point of today’s scripture readings is that our God is a marvelous God who
astonishes us again and again. At the end of today’s gospel,
the evangelist noted, “They were all astounded and praised God, and were filled
with awe, saying, ‘We have seen strange things today.'” This surely must
have been the case of the paralyzed man. He could not get out of his
bed. He was in a hopeless situation because no one could restore his
health. Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the work of
the Messiah. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the
deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb
sing for joy.” God is coming to do new things for His people. He
comes to bring salvation and restoration. The response in the psalm says,
“Look, our God is coming to save us.”
So, too, the Israelites
when they were in exile.
It was unthinkable that God would inspire King Cyrus, a pagan King, to issue an
edict allowing the Jews to return home to rebuild their homeland and Temple,
and even supporting them logistically and financially. But Isaiah gave
them hope, “Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the wasteland
rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice
and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it, the splendour of
Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our
God.” Indeed, God promised them a renewal and a restoration that was
unimaginable. Not only would human beings be healed and able to sing for
joy but even creation would be renewed, “for water gushes in the desert,
streams in the wasteland, the scorched earth becomes a lake, the parched land
springs of water. The lairs where the jackals used to live become thickets
of reed and papyrus.”
So what is needed to
allow God to work His miracles in us? We need faith. When we think something is
impossible, God surprises us. We remember the words of the angels to
Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Lk 1:37) Elizabeth also remarked to
Mary, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of
what was spoken to her by the Lord.” (Lk 1:45) The Pharisees and the scribes
did not have faith. They delimited the grace of God from working in their
lives and that of their listeners. They expected God to work according to
the laws established by God through to Moses.
So if Jesus did not work
His miracles according to the confines of the law, then He must be a fake and
not from God. Indeed, this was
what they thought. They believed that the sickness of the man was due to
His sins. It was a punishment of God. And so when Jesus forgave his
sins, they were taken aback and scandalized. They asked themselves, “Who
is this man talking blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” To
show that He could forgive sins and that the sins of this man were truly
forgiven, the Lord said to the paralysed man, “‘I order you: get up, and pick
up your stretcher and go home.’ And immediately before their very own eyes he
got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went home praising God.”
In this way, He proved to them “that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins.”
Indeed, we must be open
to the grace of God. We should not impose our narrow-minded laws and
expectations on the Lord. We
must take the Sacred Way of God as the prophet says, “And through it will run a
highway undefiled which shall be called the Sacred Way; the unclean may not
travel by it, nor fools stray along it. No lion will be there nor any fierce
beast roam about it, but the redeemed will walk there, for those the Lord has
ransomed shall return. They will come to Zion shouting for joy,
everlasting joy on their faces; joy and gladness will go with them and sorrow
and lament be ended.” God will accompany us and walk with us on this Holy
Highway. No one can harm us if we surrender ourselves to the Lord.
If we do, then the Lord
will surprise us. Just
like the paralyzed man. Since he could not get in through the door, he was let
down through the roof. So too the Lord works in this manner. If our
doors are closed, He will open a window for us. Our ways are not
necessarily God’s way. So we must be open and receptive and not be
fixated in how we want God to help us. We must open our minds in faith
and discern how the Lord is reaching out to us through the many people, events
and situations in our lives.
But we do not walk alone
in faith. God sends us messengers to inspire us and lead us. This was the case of the paralyzed
man. He himself had no faith. But some men carried the bed with the
paralysed man to Jesus even though it was impossible to get him near
Jesus. But using their initiatives, “they went up on the flat roof and
lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the
gathering, in front of Jesus.” We read that “‘seeing their faith he said,
‘My friend, your sins are forgiven you.'” The man was healed on account
of the faith of his friends. So too, God is continuing to send messengers
and prophets to us, to edify us and encourage us to persevere and not to give
up hope. If we are lacking in faith, then we must cling on to the faith
of others who have faith. That is why we must never journey alone in our
faith. We need each other to help us along. If we are alone, then
we will lose faith in times of trials and difficulties. No one can
remain strong in his or her faith alone. This is the mistake of many
Catholics. They lose their faith because they do not have good Catholic
friends to share their faith and to support each other.
So let us take
encouragement from the prayer of the psalmist. He will come to save us and give us peace,
for God is faithful and merciful. “I will hear what the Lord God
has to say, a voice that speaks of peace, peace for his people. His help is
near for those who fear him and his glory will dwell in our land. Mercy
and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall
spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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