20181209
RESTORATION OF OUR
DIGNITY AS CHILDREN OF GOD
09 DECEMBER,
2018, Sunday, 2nd Week, Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Baruch 5:1-9 ©
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God means to show your splendour to
every nation
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Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow
and distress,
put on the beauty of the glory of God for
ever,
wrap the cloak of the integrity of God
around you,
put the diadem of the glory of the Eternal
on your head:
since God means to show your splendour to
every nation under heaven,
since the name God gives you for ever will
be,
‘Peace through integrity, and honour
through devotedness.’
Arise, Jerusalem, stand on the heights
and turn your eyes to the east:
see your sons reassembled from west and
east
at the command of the Holy One, jubilant
that God has remembered them.
Though they left you on foot,
with enemies for an escort,
now God brings them back to you
like royal princes carried back in glory.
For God has decreed the flattening
of each high mountain, of the everlasting
hills,
the filling of the valleys to make the
ground level
so that Israel can walk in safety under
the glory of God.
And the forests and every fragrant tree
will provide shade
for Israel at the command of God;
for God will guide Israel in joy by the
light of his glory
with his mercy and integrity for escort.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 125(126) ©
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What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What
marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of
song,
carrying their sheaves.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
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Second reading
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Philippians 1:4-6,8-11 ©
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May you become pure and blameless in
preparation for the day of Christ
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Every time I pray for all of you, I pray
with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day
you first heard it right up to the present. I am quite certain that the One who
began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ
Jesus comes; and God knows how much I miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus
loves you. My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and
more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so
that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure
and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the
perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of
God.
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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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Gospel
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Luke 3:1-6 ©
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The call of John the Baptist
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In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s
reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee,
his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias
tetrach of Abilene, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas the word of
God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went through the whole
Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley will be filled in,
every mountain and hill be laid low,
winding ways will be straightened
and rough roads made smooth.
And all mankind shall see the salvation of
God.
RESTORATION OF OUR DIGNITY AS CHILDREN
OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Bar 5:1-9; Ps 125:1-6; Phil 1:4-6.8-11; Luke 3:1-6 ]
We are resistant to
change. Indeed, the call
to conversion is often unheeded. We are creatures of habit and we resist
change. The call of John the Baptist for the repentance of sins was not
well taken by the Jewish leaders. They thought they knew everything and
that they did not need someone to remind them of what was the right thing to
do. This is true especially for those who are religious leaders, priests
and laity alike, who are very much involved in church work. We always
direct the call to conversion to others, but not to ourselves.
What is actually the
call to conversion? It is not so much to change to something that we are
not. This is often
mistaken to mean a call to become better. In truth, conversion is to
return to our original dignity as sons and daughters of God. We have been
created in God’s image and likeness. Indeed, St John says, “See what love
the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is
what we are.’ (1 Jn 3:1)
But we have forgotten
our dignity because of sin. The sin of our first parents has wounded our
nature, causing us to lose our preternatural gifts. We have lost our ability to control
our will and appetite. We have lost the gift of infused knowledge to be
able to wisely choose the right things and make the right decisions. We
have lost the ability to integrate pain and death into our lives, often seeing
pain and death as negative when they are meant to help us to live our lives
faithfully and courageously. If we find it difficult to give up our
old way of life, it is because we are ignorant. We cannot see what is
truly good for us as we are blinded by our sins. We think what the world offers
can give us life and happiness.
Indeed, St John says,
“The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is
revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who
have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:1-3) To find our identity again,
we need first and foremost to find God because God is the ultimate self-fulfillment
in man. Without God, man has no meaning and no purpose. The only
reason why we are created is to share in the life, love and the glory of
God. Man’s vocation is a divine vocation, a call to be in union with God
who is the source of life. If the world finds life meaningless or they
live without a real purpose, it is because they have forgotten their divine
vocation, which is to become God’s image and likeness. St Paul wrote, “He
chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless
before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through
Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his
glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Eph 1:4-60
So conversion is not
about sacrificing our good life, or giving up something beautiful and precious. Conversion is to seek the ultimate
truth and ultimate good which is found in God. Conversion is to return to
our original identity before the fall of our first parents. They were
invited to share in God’s life and love, but they rejected that divine
call. They wanted to do things their way, and find their own
self-fulfillment without God. They wanted to find life without God. This
is what the world is doing. This is what humanism seeks to do. They
believe that they can find the fullness of life without the need for God.
Of course, when we use the word, “God”, we mean that every man is seeking the
Transcendent because life is more than food and drink.
In order to find this
life, all we need to do is to give up those things that prevent the beauty of
God from shining through us. Isaiah
cried out, “Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress, put on the
beauty of the glory of God for ever, wrap the cloak of the integrity of God
around you, put the diadem of the glory of the Eternal on your head: since God
means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven, since the name God
gives you forever will be, Peace through integrity, and honour through
devotedness.” Indeed, the way for us to share in God’s life is to
live a life of integrity and devotion. By so doing, we restore the peace
and honour that has always been ours. It is the lack of integrity that
causes us to be at war within ourselves, and then with others.
It means removing all
the obstacles that prevent the Lord from manifesting Himself in us. This is why Isaiah and John the
Baptist urge us to level our pride. “A voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley will be
filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, winding ways will be
straightened and rough roads made smooth. And all mankind shall see the
salvation of God.” The moment we are humble, we will be able to see the
greatness and beauty of God. Indeed, when we straighten our lives, we
begin to see things in perspective. We will no longer be at the service
of money and power but money and power will be at our service. We
will no longer be slaves to our passions or to the world, but the world will be
a slave to us for the service and the glory of God. Indeed, as Isaiah
prophesied, “For God has decreed the flattening of each high mountain, of the
everlasting hills, the filling of the valleys to make the ground level so that
Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God. And the forests and every
fragrant tree will provide shade for Israel at the command of God; for God will
guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory with his mercy and integrity for
escort.”
To find integrity, we
need to find focus in our devotion to God. This is what the Lord says, “Arise,
Jerusalem, stand on the heights and turn your eyes to the east: see your sons
reassembled from west and east at the command of the Holy One, jubilant that
God has remembered them. Though they left you on foot, with enemies for an
escort, now God brings them back to you like royal princes carried back in
glory.” God is the One who will restore us to our royal dignity and
glory. Christ is the one who by His death and resurrection restores us
our dignity as children of God when we die with Him in baptism and rise to a
new life in the Spirit in Him.
Indeed, conversion and
restoration is ultimately the work of God. This is what the psalmist says. “When the
Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream. Then was our
mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs. The heathens
themselves said: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for them!’ What marvels
the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.” For Israel, it was
unimaginable that they could be delivered from their captivity in
Babylon. To think that King Cyrus of Persia, the pagan king who allowed
them to return to Israel and even provided them with the resources to rebuild
their temple, was unthinkable. So too, in the work of restoration,
we must rely on the grace of God. St Paul makes it clear, “For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is
the gift of God not the result of works, so that no one may
boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Eph 2:8-10)
Of course, conversion
takes time. We are just like an onion. There are many layers of
inauthenticity that we need to peel off. When we remove one, we find another layer
of inauthenticity in us. That is why restoration takes place. St
Paul prayed, “My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and
more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so
that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure
and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the
perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of
God.” We need to recover our goodness and beauty in Christ.
So let us continue to
march forward by remembering who we were and how we can restore ourselves in
Christ who is the true man and the true God. Christ will lead us to restore our identity as
God’s children. So we pray to the Lord even as we apply all our energy to
live an authentic life of integrity. “Deliver us, O Lord, from our
bondage as streams in dry land. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when
they reap. They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the
sowing; they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their
sheaves.” By striving and by persevering, we will arrive at our divine
calling and identity again. It is the hope of St Paul and ours as well
when he wrote, “I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you
will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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