20181201
WATCH YOURSELF
01 DECEMBER,
2018, Saturday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Apocalypse 22:1-7 ©
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The Lord God will shine on them; it will
never be night again
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The angel showed me, John, the river of
life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing crystal-clear
down the middle of the city street. On either side of the river were the trees
of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the
leaves of which are the cure for the pagans.
The
ban will be lifted. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in its place in
the city; his servants will worship him, they will see him face to face, and
his name will be written on their foreheads. It will never be night again and
they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining
on them. They will reign for ever and ever.
The
angel said to me, ‘All that you have written is sure and will come true: the Lord
God who gives the spirit to the prophets has sent his angel to reveal to his
servants what is soon to take place. Very soon now, I shall be with you again.’
Happy are those who treasure the prophetic message of this book.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 94(95):1-7 ©
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Marana tha! Come, Lord
Jesus!
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the
Lord.
Marana tha! Come, Lord
Jesus!
A mighty God is the Lord,
a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains
are his.
To him belongs the sea, for he made it
and the dry land shaped by his
hands.
Marana tha! Come, Lord
Jesus!
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God
who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his
pasture,
the flock that is led by his
hand.
Marana tha! Come, Lord
Jesus!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt24:42,44
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Lk21:36
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:34-36 ©
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That day will be sprung on you suddenly,
like a trap
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Watch
yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness
and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a
trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay
awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to
happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’
WATCH YOURSELF
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ REV 22:1-7; LUKE 21:34-36 ]
In the gospel, the Lord warned His
disciples, “‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with
debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung
on you suddenly, like a trap.” Why should we watch ourselves? Many
people no longer watch themselves. This is because there seems to be a
loss of hope for the future. Many are living with the thought that once
we die, everything is finished. So what is there to be alert to because
we are not going anywhere! This explains why many are not keeping
watch for the life to come as they only live for this world and this
life. When that is so, indeed, as Jesus said, “our hearts will be
coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life.” Life
for them is all about making money, pleasure, merry-making, enjoyment and
holidays. Work and ambition are the means to secure wealth and a
luxurious life. So why worry about God, about Church, about the poor and
the suffering or the future of the country and the world? Why worry about
ecology or climate change and that the world will one day be burnt
out? We will be long dead and gone.
That is why it is
important that we do not get soiled by the world and its values. Many of our Catholics who are weak in
faith, who hardly pray or read the scriptures, attend church services only
occasionally, behave more like baptized pagans than real Catholics. The
values they subscribe to are not founded on the Word of God but on the current
opinions of the world. They believe more in the ideology of the world than
in Catholic theology. In truth, no one becomes an unbeliever
overnight. It is always a gradual process. It begins with neglect
in our spiritual life, especially a deep relationship with God. Once our
relationship with the Lord becomes cold and distant, we become worldlier and
more sensual in our needs. We cling to the pleasures that come from the
flesh and the world. Very soon, we fall deeper into sin and God is
completely out of our mind and our lives. In order to justify our sinful
actions that are contrary to the Church’s teachings and the Word of God, we
employ the reasons of the world to convince us that what we do is the right
thing and that the Church is wrong and the bible is outdated and not the Word
of God. We become arrogant in our thoughts. From indifference to
the faith, we soon become hostile to the Word of God. From being a Sunday
and nominal Catholic, we become anti-Catholic and join the rest of the world in
condemning the Catholic Faith. This is the path that many Catholics take
simply because they had not been watchful of the workings and the strategy of
the Evil One.
This is why the Lord
exhorts us, “Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all
that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of
Man.” Praying
keep us awake to the presence of God and the promptings of the Holy
Spirit. Praying keeps us informed of the Word of God which “is a lamp to
my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps 119:105) Today’s gospel text came
before Jesus’ suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. He Himself prayed at
the most difficult time in His life when He had to make a decision to do the
Father’s will. Hence, He urged us, “Stay awake and pray that you
may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak.” (Mt 26:41) Without
prayer, we would fall into temptations because of weakness, like St Peter who
denied the Lord because of his cowardice and the rest who ran away for safety
when Jesus was arrested.
How often is this case
for us all as well? Many
of us are easily tempted to sin because of the weakness of the will and the
flesh. We are afraid to carry the cross. We are afraid to suffer
for Jesus, especially shame and humiliation. Indeed, when people were
attacking the Church and her moral values, few Catholics came out to the open
to defend the truths of the gospel and the morality of our peoples. Many
kept silent.
So how can we, besides
praying, find the strength to stay awake and remain firm in our faith? We
must keep the vision that Christ has shown us. We need to have a clear vision of our
ultimate goal in life if we are to give our whole heart and soul to arrive at
it. Only with a clear vision like St Paul and St John, can we focus
fully. Hence, we must nurture the vision that the Word of God presents to
us about our future destiny so that by remembering and keeping the vision
alive, we will never lose enthusiasm and hope.
In the book of
revelation, we have the angel showing St John the vision of life. “The angel showed me, John, the river of
life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing crystal-clear
down the middle of the city street. On either side of the river were the trees
of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the
leaves of which are the cure for the pagans.” The view of heaven where
there will be eternal life and fruitfulness is what must continue to inspire
us. We know that at the end of the day, we will share in the river of
life eternal when the Spirit lives in us. This is what the Lord promised
us. “‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes
in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow
rivers of living water.’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in
him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet
glorified.” (Jn 7:37-39)
Secondly, our hope is
that we see God face to face. “The
ban will be lifted. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in its place in
the city; his servants will worship him, they will see him face to face, and
his name will be written on their foreheads. It will never be night again and
they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining
on them. They will reign for ever and ever.” Returning to God is where we
truly belong. When we see the face of God, we come to realize that we
belong to Him and in Him we find our peace and joy. St John wrote,
“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 3:2f) God
will be our complete joy and light. There will be no darkness, no fear,
no more temptations but we will be in God who is our peace and life.
Finally, the ultimate question
is, when will He come? He said, “Very soon now, I shall be with you again.” God will come at the end of our
sojourn on earth when we die. God will come at the end of history when
everything will reach its consummation. But He will come. How soon,
is an irrelevant question. In fact, He has never left us. He said,
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20) He has already come to us in
the Church, in the Eucharist, in the Sacraments, and in the Holy Spirit.
He went up to heaven and has brought heaven to us when He came again in the
Holy Spirit. What is needed for us now is to receive Him again and again,
especially at the Eucharist. What we need to do is to find Him,
especially among the poor, for He is with them too, as He said, “Truly I tell
you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my
family, you did it to me.’ (Mt 25:40) Or when we receive the little and
insignificant people in our lives. “Whoever becomes humble like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child
in my name welcomes me.” (Mt 18:4f)
So, rather than
speculating on the end of time to get ready, we must be ready at all
times. Our
entire life must be one of readiness to welcome the Lord. We must be
saying, “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!” In this way, we will be ready for
any unforeseen circumstances in life, whether we meet a sudden death, a tragic
event, trials in life or a crisis. To be prepared at all times is the
best preparation because we have nothing to fear. Let us keep ourselves
holy by making sure we go regularly for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, keep
ourselves walking in love and truth, have a clear conscience and fulfill our
responsibilities faithfully in life. When we do that, we will always be ready
to stand before the Lord with full confidence. When we cry out, “Come,
Lord Jesus”, He will come to our help in our trials.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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