20191214
PREPARE
YOURSELF BY BEING AN ELIJAH AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
14 December,
2019, Saturday, 2nd Week of Advent
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First reading
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Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4,9-12 ©
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The prophet Elijah will come again
The
prophet Elijah arose like a fire,
his
word flaring like a torch.
It
was he who brought famine on the people,
and
who decimated them in his zeal.
By
the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens,
he
also, three times, brought down fire.
How
glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah!
Has
anyone reason to boast as you have?
Taken
up in the whirlwind of fire,
in
a chariot with fiery horses;
designated
in the prophecies of doom
to
allay God’s wrath before the fury breaks,
to
turn the hearts of fathers towards their children,
and
to restore the tribes of Jacob,
Happy
shall they be who see you,
and
those who have fallen asleep in love.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 79(80):2-3,15-16,18-19 ©
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Lord
of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
O
shepherd of Israel, hear us,
shine
forth from your cherubim throne.
O Lord,
rouse up your might,
O
Lord, come to our help.
Lord
of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
God
of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look
down from heaven and see.
Visit
this vine and protect it,
the
vine your right hand has planted.
Lord
of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
May
your hand be on the man you have chosen,
the
man you have given your strength.
And
we shall never forsake you again;
give
us life that we may call upon your name.
Lord
of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
day of the Lord is near;
Look,
he comes to save us.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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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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Matthew 17:10-13 ©
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Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him
As they came down
from the mountain the disciples put this question to Jesus, ‘Why do the scribes
say that Elijah has to come first?’ ‘True;’ he replied ‘Elijah is to come to
see that everything is once more as it should be; however, I tell you that Elijah
has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they
pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands.’ The
disciples understood then that he had been speaking of John the Baptist.
PREPARE YOURSELF
BY BEING AN ELIJAH AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ECCL 48:1-4,9-11; PS 80:2-3,15-16,18-19; MT 17:10-13]
We are coming to the end
of the Second Week of Advent. In your busyness, have you started to make
room for Christ in your heart and in your life? How can we best prepare ourselves
for the coming of Christ at Christmas if not to be an Elijah and a John the
Baptist for others and prepare them to welcome Christ? Elijah and John
were precursors of our Lord.
Elijah was called to
bring the people to repentance.
He was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets because he was filled with
the Spirit and sought to preserve the purity of the faith of Israel from
contamination by the pagan religions of their neighbours. This was what
was said of him in the first reading. “The prophet Elijah arose like a
fire, his word flaring like a torch. It was he who brought famine on them, and
who decimated them in his zeal. By the word of the Lord, he shut up the
heavens, he also, three times, brought down fire.” He was “designated in
the prophecies of doom to allay God’s wrath before the fury breaks, to turn the
hearts of fathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.’
John the Baptist was to
prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. When John the Baptist was born,
this was said of him, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most
High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give
knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By
the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to
give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to
guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Lk 1:76-79) When they asked John who he
was, he denied that he was the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet. He was
just “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of
the Lord.'” (cf Jn 1:19-23)
However, Jesus in the
gospel affirmed that John in truth was the Elijah that was to come as
prophesied by the prophet Malachi. “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before
the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of
parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that
I will not come and strike the land with a curse.” (Mal 4:5f) Jesus confirmed that Elijah
had come again in the person of John the Baptist to prepare the way for the
Lord. “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and
the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the
covenant in whom you delight – indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of
hosts.” (Mal 3:1) Unfortunately,
“they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man
will suffer similarly at their hands.”
Indeed, Elijah and John
shared many similarities. Both
of them received the Spirit in the same measure. Just as Elijah dwelled
in the wilderness, so did John. Elijah was sustained by the birds whilst
the food for John was locusts and wild honey. Elijah had his loins girded with
leather, so did John. Elijah was persecuted by Queen Jezebel and John by
Herodias. Elijah was the conscience of King Ahab, just as John was for
King Herod. Elijah threw the mantle down and the Jordan River and the waters
separated. But John opened up the river Jordan for baptism. Elijah
opened the heavens and was carried by a chariot of fire. John saw the
heavens open and the Spirit of God descending upon Christ and later on, that
same Spirit would come in tongues of fire on the apostles at
Pentecost. Undoubtedly, John was truly the Elijah that God sent to
prepare His people to welcome the Messiah. Indeed, they came to give us
the greatest gift of God, that of His Son. The book of Sirach says,
“Happy shall they be who see you, and those who have fallen asleep in
love.” John was contented to be the friend of the bridegroom. “The
friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the
bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must
increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:29f)
How, then, can we be an
Elijah and John to others? We, too, must be available to the Lord as they
were. Both Elijah and John were available to the Lord and give themselves
entirely to His service. All
that they did was to glorify God and make Him known. They lived in the
desert so that they could hear the voice of the Lord properly and clearly
before they proclaimed Him to others. Only in the wilderness of our
hearts, can we hear what the Lord wants to say. So, too, if we want to be
the messengers of the Lord, we must first hear the message for ourselves.
Otherwise, there is nothing to proclaim. If we are busy frantically involving
ourselves in so many activities, then we will have no time to be with Him and
to hear the Bridegroom’s voice as John the Baptist did. Unless we hear
directly from the Lord in our hearts, there will be no conviction of sharing
His word with others.
Secondly, we must
practice detachment and seek for true riches, which are love, giving and
compassion. The reason why
they lived in the wilderness, dressed simply and ate simply was so that their
hearts could be focused on what was even greater than that which the world
could offer. So long as we are possessed by our possessions, we are
not free to give our possessions, much less ourselves to others. We must
come to realize that earthly and worldly possessions in themselves cannot give
us happiness. As the Lord warns us, “Take care! Be on your guard against
all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of
possessions.’ (Lk 12:15) In
another occasion, the Lord advised us, “And I tell you, make friends for
yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may
welcome you into the eternal homes. If then you have not been faithful
with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? No
slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the
other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
wealth.'” (Lk 16:9, 11,13)
Thirdly, we must call
people to repentance. This is done by being the conscience of the world. The world is living in darkness and
walking in the shadow of death. With relativism, the world has
given up on truth since truth cannot be found. Everyone is relying on
himself and has become the norm of judgement. Truth is no longer based on
universal truth that is objective. If people are not repenting from their
sins and their destructive way of life it is because they are numb to the
truth. They are misguided by the fake and distorted messages spread
through the internet and social media. The devil is the Father of lies
and more than ever, the devil is making use of social media and the internet to
disseminate falsehoods, half-truths, promoting individualism,
self-centeredness, pornography, abortion, drugs, killing and, suicide and
terrorist activities. They disguise same-sex union, transgender,
euthanasia and the like as love and freedom when in fact it is all about
oneself. So, like Elijah and John, we must be the voice of God’s
conscience in the world. Failing which, the world will soon believe in the
false propaganda of Satan.
Fourthly, we must give
people hope. Both Elijah and John were conscious that they were called to
give hope to the people through repentance. Our task is not just to call people to repent
but more importantly, we want to give them fullness of life and love. Many are
walking in darkness, meaninglessness and depression. They have lost all
hope and zeal in life. It is our task to show them how to live the way
Christ has taught us to live, for God and for others. Unless we give our
lives for the service of God and others, we cannot find life “For those who
want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake
will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but
forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” (Mt 16.25f) St Paul writing to Titus
exhorted him, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,
training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to
live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the
blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all
iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good
deeds.” (Tit 2:11-14)
Indeed, when we give life to others and when we give hope to others by our way
of life, we save ourselves together with them for “I am because we are, and we
are because I am.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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