20191204
CHRIST
THE HOPE OF OUR SALVATION
04 DECEMBER,
2019, Wednesday, 1st Week of Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 25:6-10 ©
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The Lord will prepare a banquet for every nation
On
this mountain,
the
Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples
a
banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,
of
food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.
On
this mountain he will remove
the
mourning veil covering all peoples,
and
the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he
will destroy Death for ever.
The
Lord will wipe away
the
tears from every cheek;
he
will take away his people’s shame
everywhere
on earth,
for
the Lord has said so.
That
day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in
whom we hoped for salvation;
the
Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We
exult and we rejoice
that
he has saved us;
for
the hand of the Lord
rests
on this mountain.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 22(23) ©
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In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
The
Lord is my shepherd;
there
is nothing I shall want.
Fresh
and green are the pastures
where
he gives me repose.
Near
restful waters he leads me,
to
revive my drooping spirit.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
He
guides me along the right path;
he
is true to his name.
If I
should walk in the valley of darkness
no
evil would I fear.
You
are there with your crook and your staff;
with
these you give me comfort.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
You
have prepared a banquet for me
in
the sight of my foes.
My
head you have anointed with oil;
my
cup is overflowing.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
Surely
goodness and kindness shall follow me
all
the days of my life.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for
ever and ever.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Is33:22
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
Lord is our judge, the Lord our lawgiver,
the
Lord our king and our saviour.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Look,
the Lord will come to save his people.
Blessed
those who are ready to meet him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
|
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Matthew 15:29-37 ©
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The crowds praised the God of Israel
Jesus reached the
shores of the Sea of Galilee, and he went up into the hills. He sat there, and
large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb
and many others; these they put down at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds
were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame
walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel.
But
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I feel sorry for all these people;
they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not
want to send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way.’ The disciples
said to him, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this deserted place to feed
such a crowd?’ Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they
said ‘and a few small fish.’ Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the
ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and he gave thanks and broke
them and handed them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowds. They all
ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps,
seven baskets full.
CHRIST THE HOPE
OF OUR SALVATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Is 25:6-10; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 15:29-37]
What the world needs
most today is hope. Truly,
many people live without much hope for tomorrow. They do not have a
future. Some are just dragging their feet each day, going through the
drudgery of life, and drifting through life. They live without purpose
and without meaning. At the same time, we have to contend with life’s
challenges, pain and sicknesses, division, injustices, betrayals, addictions,
work and financial difficulties. Indeed, when you are left alone, because
your spouse has left you and even your children, upon growing up, have
abandoned you, life becomes empty and meaningless.
If we are in this situation, then the
scripture readings present Jesus as our Hope. Advent is a season
of Hope. We are asked to look forward to the New Year with hope and
confidence. This hope is not an imaginary paradise but based on Christ
who is the Hope of humanity. Indeed, He is the fulfillment of the
prophecy of Isaiah who said: “That day, it will be said: See, this is our
salvation; the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. We exult and we rejoice that
he has saved us; for the hand of the Lord rests on this mountain.”
How is Jesus the
fulfillment of the Hope of Israel and that of humanity?
Firstly, Jesus is the New Moses who will
shepherd His people, the One who will ascend the Mountain of Jerusalem. St
Matthew deliberately mentioned at the beginning of the gospel that when “Jesus
reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee… he went up into the hills.” Going
up to the hill to teach reminds us of Moses who went up to Mount Sinai to
receive the Commandments from God. Jesus is the teacher of the New
Covenant, just as Moses was the teacher of the Old Covenant. That is why we
sing in the responsorial psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd; there is
nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me
repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping
spirit.” In fact, in the gospel, we have Jesus who sat down like a
teacher and taught the crowd for three days and they listened to Him
attentively, almost as if they were on a retreat with the Lord.
Secondly, Jesus is the
fulfillment of the One who gives hope to us by leading us out of darkness into
His wonderful light. To
underscore this as well, St Matthew began by saying that He “reached the shores
of the Sea of Galilee.” This is a reference to his earlier citation in Mt 4:15ffrom the prophet Isaiah 9:1f who said, “The land of
Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of
the Gentiles – the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for
those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” Again
the responsorial psalm reiterates this message when it says, “He guides me
along the right path; he is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of
darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.”
Thirdly, not only is
Jesus our shepherd who gives us hope, but He fulfills our hopes. We read in the gospel how in His
compassion, like a shepherd for His sheep, He healed all those who were sick,
crippled in life, blind, whether physically or spiritually, possessed and
wounded. St Matthew noted, “large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the
crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at his feet,
and he cured them. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking,
the crippled whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and
they praised the God of Israel.” He is our healer.
Fourthly, as the hope of
humanity, He fulfills our hunger.
The prophet Isaiah says, “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for
all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wine, of food rich and
juicy, of wine strained wines.” This prophecy is fulfilled in Christ when
we read in the gospel how He multiplied bread and fish to feed the crowd of
four thousand. As if it was not marvelous enough that He could feed all
with only seven loaves and a few small fish, after eating as much as they
wanted, “they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets
full.” Of course, we know that the multiplication of loaves
anticipates the Eucharist, His own body and blood that He gave to us at the
Last Supper. Indeed, today we still continue this feast whenever we
celebrate the Eucharist, when He comes to feed us with His Word and nourish us
with the Bread of Life and allow us to touch Him sacramentally in the
Eucharist. That is why with the psalmist, we sing, “In the Lord’s own house
shall I dwell for ever and ever. You have prepared a banquet
for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is
overflowing.” With Jesus, our spiritual hunger is filled by His
love and by His Word.
Fifthly, Jesus is the
Hope of humanity because He takes away all our sins and guilt. Many of us are not able to forgive
ourselves, especially for the mistakes that we have made in life. At
times, we cannot forgive the mistakes of others and those who have hurt us or
have been unfaithful to us. Jesus comes to assure us that our sins are
forgiven. Through the sacrament of baptism, He has restored our dignity
as the children of God by forgiving us our sins. As the prophet said,
“The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his
peoples shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so.” Even when
we sin today, let us remember that no sin is too difficult for the Lord to
forgive. All sins can be forgiven unless we do not want to be
forgiven. The Lord does not want us to live in shame. He invites us
to come and seek forgiveness and healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Finally, Jesus is our Hope,
indeed, the last and the fullness of Hope because by His death and
resurrection, He has taken away our fear of death and our attachment
to this earthly life. Indeed, Isaiah had already prophesied, “On this
mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud
enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever.” As the psalmist
says, “Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my
life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
” With Jesus, we no longer need to fear death because we will live
with the Lord forever in His dwelling where there is eternal rest, peace, love
and reunion with God and with our loved ones.
Having recognized that
Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, the Hope of humanity, what
must we do? We must
respond to His invitation to find hope. Advent therefore is an
invitation to take the step of coming to Jesus to find hope in life again by
connecting with Jesus. If we want to renew our hope in life and refresh
ourselves, we must listen to Him attentively by praying the Word of God daily,
receiving Him in Holy Communion, celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation for
healing and reconciliation. Indeed, Jesus our Good Shepherd is full of
compassion for us. He cares for us more than we think. He knows our
needs as He told His disciples, “I feel sorry for all these people; they have
been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to
send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way.” He wants to
strengthen us in our journey of life.
Secondly, we must also
be like the disciples who supplied Jesus with the seven loaves and a few small
fishes. For those who
have been blessed by Him, we are called to be the channels of His hope to
humanity. We are called to play our part by reaching out to others in
compassion and service. We should take the initiative of reconciling with
those whom we have hurt, or with those who have hurt us. We can visit our
elderly who are lonely or sick. We could give encouragement to our
colleagues or children or friends who need our support because they feel so
alone in their struggles and pains. We can also reach out to the
poor and those who are hungry and without support. Most of all, let us be
a light and hope to others by enlightening them, by giving them a smile, or
reaching out to them in service and love. In this way, we become the hope
of Christ for others. Only then will others truly believe that
Christ is the Hope of humanity because they can see that our hope in Christ has
transformed us to be people of Hope as well.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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