20191205
BUILDING
OUR HOPE ON CHRIST AS THE EVERLASTING ROCK
05 DECEMBER,
2019, Thursday, 1st Week of Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 26:1-6 ©
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Open the gates; let the upright nation come in
That
day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We
have a strong city;
to
guard us he has set
wall
and rampart about us.
Open
the gates! Let the upright nation come in,
she,
the faithful one
whose
mind is steadfast, who keeps the peace,
because
she trusts in you.
Trust
in the Lord for ever,
for
the Lord is the everlasting Rock;
he
has brought low those who lived high up
in
the steep citadel;
he
brings it down, brings it down to the ground,
flings
it down in the dust:
the
feet of the lowly, the footsteps of the poor
trample
on it.
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Responsorial
Psalm
|
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Psalm 117(118):1,8-9,19-21,25-27 ©
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Blessed
in the name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
Give
thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for
his love has no end.
It is
better to take refuge in the Lord
than
to trust in men;
it is
better to take refuge in the Lord
than
to trust in princes.
Blessed
in the name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
Open
to me the gates of holiness:
I
will enter and give thanks.
This
is the Lord’s own gate
where
the just may enter.
I
will thank you for you have answered
and
you are my saviour.
Blessed
in the name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
O
Lord, grant us salvation;
O
Lord, grant success.
Blessed
in the name of the Lord
is
he who comes.
We
bless you from the house of the Lord;
the
Lord God is our light.
Blessed
in the name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Is40:9-10
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Shout
with a loud voice, joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Here
is the Lord God coming with power.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
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Is55:6
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Seek
the Lord while he is still to be found,
call
to him while he is still near.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
|
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Matthew 7:21,24-27 ©
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The wise man built his house on a rock
Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be
like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose,
gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it
was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does
not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain
came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what
a fall it had!’
BUILDING OUR
HOPE ON CHRIST AS THE EVERLASTING ROCK
Israel was always living
in fear and under the threat of her enemies. She was certainly militarily less powerful
than her neighboring nations. Yet she managed to conquer her enemies and
prevented them from conquering her because the hand of God was with them.
We saw this from the time of Moses to Joshua, the period of the Judges, Samson
and Gideon, the period of the kings, King Saul and King David. By the
time of King Solomon, there was peace and unity. However, Israel as a single
nation did not last long after King Solomon. Eventually, because of
internal strife, there was a split between the Northern and Southern
Kingdom. This made Israel and Judah even more susceptible to the invasion
of their enemies.
Recalling their former
days of glory, the Israelites once again appealed to God’s mercy and might to
restore peace to Israel.
Isaiah prophesied, “That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We
have a strong city; to guard us he has set wall and rampart about us.”
They believed that God would once again protect Israel from foreign
nations. He would be the wall that shields them from all alien attacks,
and be the rampart that would help Israel to see from afar the coming of their
enemies. Hence, the invitation to trust in the Lord; “Open the gates! Let
the upright nation come in, she, the faithful one whose mind is steadfast, who
keeps the peace, because she trusts in you. Trust in the Lord for ever, for the
Lord is the everlasting Rock; he has brought low those who lived high up in the
steep citadel; brings it down, brings it down to the ground, flings it down in
the dust: the feet of the lowly, the footsteps of the poor trample on
it.” Indeed, we must open the gates of faith and hope in the Lord.
In the same way, the
Lord asks us to build our faith on rock. “Therefore, everyone who listens
to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built
his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled
themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on
rock.” What is this rock if not first and foremost the Lord
Himself? St Peter wrote, “Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by
mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to
offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pt 2:4f) Only when we build our faith
in Christ, will we be able to remain firm and strong against the temptations
and changing values in the world.
Secondly, this rock
refers to the faith of St Peter in Christ. When St Peter professed his faith in
Christ as the “Messiah, the Son of the Living God”, Jesus said to him, “Blessed
are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this
rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against
it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever
you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will
be loosed in heaven.” Only faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God
can save us from doubts about the truth of the gospel as proclaimed by
Jesus. When we have the same faith as Peter in Jesus, we too will find
the keys to the kingdom of heaven because the Word of God which Jesus taught us
is what will bind us and guide in the way of truth and life. In another
text, when the disciples of Jesus were scandalized by His teaching on the
Eucharist, Jesus asked the twelve, “‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon
Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal
life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'”
(Jn 6:67-69) Faith in Jesus is the
condition in accepting the gospel as God’s word. St Paul wrote, “when you
received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human
word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you
believers.” (1 Th 2:13)
Thirdly, this rock
refers also to Peter himself. St Peter is the head of the Apostolic
College. As
the Vicar of Christ, Peter is given the gift of infallibility in
teaching. He commanded Peter to feed His lambs and sheep and look after
them. (cf Jn 21:15-17) This
authority is given to Peter because Christ promised to be with Peter and the
apostles. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:19f) It is for this reason that
we, as Catholics, are called to take direction from the Magisterium with regard
to the authentic teaching of the Church. No theologian or scripture
scholar, nor even a single bishop teaches authoritatively unless he teaches in
union with the Pope and the Apostolic College. Indeed, our ability to
withstand the changing tides and ideologies of humanity lies in our adherence
to the Word of God as “inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3:16) The weakness among our Catholics
is that they do not know the Word of God and are ill instructed and
ill-informed of the teachings of the Church. Hence, they are easily
swayed by the arguments of the world and buy into their foolish and short-sighted
arguments and pragmatic policies.
However, it is not
enough just to know the Word of God but as the Lord cautions us, we must act on
the Word. Indeed, “It is
not those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, who will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. Everyone who
listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid
man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew
and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!” For those of
us who are better instructed in the faith, we cannot rely simply on our
intellectual knowledge of the Word of God or our doctrines. In
themselves, they cannot save us unless we act on what we believe in.
Indeed, St James reminds us often, “be doers of the word, and not merely
hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word
and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for
they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were
like.” (Jms 1:22-24) Furthermore, he reminded us that “faith by itself,
if it has no works, is dead. Show me your faith without works, and I by my
works will show you my faith.” (Jms 2:17f)
Hence, the season of
Advent invites us to strengthen our faith as we hold on to the hope of
salvation given to us in Christ. It is because Christ is our Hope for fullness of life,
both here in this world and hereafter that we put our faith in Him. With
the psalmist, we pray, “O Lord, grant us salvation; O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord is he who comes. We bless you from the house of
the Lord; the Lord God is our light.” Instead of relying on ourselves, on
our human wisdom which is God’s foolishness, we must seek the wisdom of
God. The psalmist declares, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for
his love has no end. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in
men; it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
We must not rely on human strength and human wisdom or power because they
cannot be trusted. Rather, we must trust in God alone. St James exhorts
us, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously
and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never
doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed
by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every
way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” (Jms 1:5-8)
By living a righteous
and holy life, we enter the Gate of Heaven. This is what the scripture assures us. “Open
the gates! Let the upright nation come in, she, the faithful one whose mind is
steadfast, who keeps the peace, because she trusts in you.” The psalmist
prayed, “Open to me the gates of holiness: I will enter and give thanks. This
is the Lord’s own gate where the just may enter. I will thank you for you have
answered and you are my saviour.” This is how we can realize the hope
that God has offered to us in Christ. He is our rock, our fortress and
our savior. Let us come to Him, that living Stone rejected by men.
“‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’ They
stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” (2 Pt 2:7f) Let Christ be our foundation
stone and our rock!
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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