20191212
REBUILDING
OUR LIVES
12 December,
2019, Thursday, 2nd Week of Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 41:13-20 ©
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I, the Holy One of Israel, am your redeemer
I,
the Lord, your God,
I am
holding you by the right hand;
I
tell you, ‘Do not be afraid,
I
will help you.’
Do
not be afraid, Jacob, poor worm,
Israel,
puny mite.
I
will help you – it is the Lord who speaks –
the
Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.
See,
I turn you into a threshing-sled,
new,
with doubled teeth;
you
shall thresh and crush the mountains,
and
turn the hills to chaff.
You
shall winnow them and the wind will blow them away,
the
gale will scatter them.
But
you yourself will rejoice in the Lord,
and
glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The
poor and needy ask for water, and there is none,
their
tongue is parched with thirst.
I,
the Lord, will answer them,
I,
the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
I
will make rivers well up on barren heights,
and
fountains in the midst of valleys;
turn
the wilderness into a lake,
and
dry ground into waterspring.
In
the wilderness I will put cedar trees,
acacias,
myrtles, olives.
In
the desert I will plant juniper,
plane
tree and cypress side by side;
so
that men may see and know,
may
all observe and understand
that
the hand of the Lord has done this,
that
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 144(145):1,9-13a ©
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The
Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
I
will give you glory, O God my king,
I
will bless your name for ever.
How
good is the Lord to all,
compassionate
to all his creatures.
The
Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
All
your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and
your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They
shall speak of the glory of your reign
and
declare your might, O God,
to
make known to men your mighty deeds
and
the glorious splendour of your reign.
The
Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
Yours
is an everlasting kingdom;
your
rule lasts from age to age.
The
Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Come,
Lord, with your peace
that
we may rejoice in your presence with sincerity of heart.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.Is45:8
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Send
victory like a dew, you heavens,
and
let the clouds rain it down.
Let
the earth open and bring forth the saviour.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 11:11-15 ©
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Salute the house and let your peace descend upon it
Jesus spoke to
the crowds: ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater
than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he is. Since John the Baptist came, up to this present
time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are
taking it by storm. Because it was towards John that all the prophecies of the
prophets and of the Law were leading; and he, if you will believe me, is the
Elijah who was to return. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!’
REBUILDING OUR
LIVES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISAIAH 41:13-20; MATTHEW 11:11-15 ]
In the first reading, we
read of how the Israelites during the exile were reduced to almost nothingness. They lost their land, their
kingdom, their Temple and their homes. From a powerful kingdom during the
time of King Solomon, they were now but a “poor worm, puny mite.”
What had happened to their former splendor, glory and power? Their
kingdom was divided by internal strife, resulting in a split between Israel and
Judah. As if it was not bad enough, within the kingdom, most of the kings
were weak and evil, caring for themselves, their interests and pleasures rather
than the people. The leaders under them, political and religious, were
accomplices in their crimes. Without moral leadership, the country could
only fall into decadence. Internally weak and divided, it could not
withstand the onslaught of its enemies. In a nutshell, it was the sins of
the leaders and the people that brought about their destruction.
What is even more tragic
is that they were all given warnings by the Lord. God sent prophet after prophet to
call the people to repentance, to take heed of the destruction ahead of them
and to put their house in order. Not only did they reject the prophets’
warnings, but they even put them to death or in prison. This was the
remark of Jesus in the gospel. “Since John the Baptist came, up to this
present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the
violent are taking it by storm.” Prophets have never been welcomed
by the people. John the Baptist also suffered execution by King Herod
under the instigation of Herodias, his wife. Indeed, the kingdom of God all
these years had been subjected to the violence and persecution of evil men who
were opposed to the truth.
In our times, we, too,
face the same situation. Whether it is at home, in the office or in
church organizations and communities, there is so much division among us. We also lack good, exemplary,
devoted, selfless and virtuous leaders. When parents, leaders, corporate,
civil or church leaders do not lead the way, walk the talk and be mentors to
those whom they lead, their followers will take the cue accordingly.
They, too, would learn how to play politics, suck up to leaders and collaborate
in their crimes for their survival and interests. When leaders lack moral
integrity, impartiality and honesty, their subjects will behave
likewise. This is true also for parents, teachers and those in
formation as well. Good and exemplary parents and teachers will produce
good children. Indeed, good, humble and virtuous leaders, whether
political or religious, are paramount for the growth of any organization or
institution. Otherwise, decadence will set in, as we see in many
countries where political leaders are corrupt.
But today if we find
ourselves in such a situation, God gives us hope that we can rebuild our
organization and our own lives. If
we have been reduced to an insignificant force in society or in the Church
today, or if we have been humbled because we have made a big mistake in life
and are too ashamed to see anyone, the Lord is saying, He will recreate us as
He did before. Just as He delivered the Hebrews from the slavery of
the Egyptians and gave them the Promised Land and the Kingdom, so too, He could
recreate Israel one more time. Through the prophet, the Lord said, “For
I, the Lord, your God, I am holding you by the right hand; I tell you, ‘Do not
be afraid, I will help you’. Do not be afraid, Jacob, poor worm, Israel, puny
mite.’ I will help you – it is the Lord who speaks – the Holy One of
Israel is your redeemer.” Indeed, this same promise is given to us
all as well, whether as a community, institution or as an individual.
But how can this promise
of restoration be realized? From
today till just before Christmas, St John the Baptist becomes our guide in Advent. He
is the one who will show us the way to rebuild our lives and the kingdom of
God. As Jesus said in the gospel, he is the new Elijah who prepares the
way for the coming of the Lord. Jesus said, “Because it was towards John
that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were leading; and he, if
you will believe me, is the Elijah who was to return. If anyone has ears to
hear, let him listen!'” We must therefore take heed of John the Baptist’s
message if we are to rebuild our lives. We must not repeat the same
mistakes of the kings and the leaders in the Old Testament. By rejecting
the truth, we will eventually hurt ourselves and our people.
What, then, are the
conditions for restoration? Firstly, St John the Baptist calls for
repentance of heart.
We must turn to the Lord by levelling the mountains and hills in our lives and
filling up the valleys as well. In other words, we are called to remove
the obstacles that prevent us from seeing the truth about ourselves and fill
the emptiness of our lives with the love of God and love for our
fellowmen. The psalmist tells us that our God is a God of
compassion. He is “kind and full of compassion, slow to anger,
abounding in love. I will give you glory, O God my king, I will bless your name
for ever. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his
creatures.” Repentance is the first step in rebuilding.
We must take the
opportunity during this advent to make a good confession. Alas! Although we have penitential
services all over the island in all our parishes, less than 20% frequent the
Sacrament of Reconciliation. As if this is not bad enough, many who
go for the penitential services are not well prepared. There is no real
confession, no contrition if we do not make time to go over our lives and spend
time praying, reflecting and understanding the depth of our sinfulness. We have
not entered into the pain and misery we have caused, not just to our loved ones
but how we nail Jesus again and again to the cross, piercing anew the heart of
Mary with our sword of injustice, lust, greed and unforgiveness. An
unexamined life is not worth living, so says, Socrates. As a
result, because there is no true repentance, conversion, realization and
contrition, we continue to perpetuate our crimes and sins against our fellowmen
and against God.
Secondly, it calls for
courage to be receptive to the grace of the kingdom. When Jesus mentioned that the
kingdom of God must be taken by force, He wants us to recognize that real
conversion takes place only when God enters in a radical manner in our
lives. Small experiences of God will only produce weak and superficial
conversions. But when a person experiences God radically and in an
amazing and surprising way, exceeding all expectations and human calculations,
great will be the conversion as well. The question is, are we ready to
allow the kingdom to come by storm? Many of us like to determine how God
should come into our lives. Some insist that God must come only through
contemplative reflection and prayer. Some would have nothing less than the
Charismatic way, with all its phenomenon of healing miracles, praying in
tongues, resting in the Spirit, and deliverance. Some would only want God
to come through the traditional way; such as in the recitation of the rosary,
attending Mass, etc. He could come also when we serve and meet the poor.
What is important is
receptivity. The Lord comes in ways that we least expect. He could come to us through a
silent retreat or a charismatic or healing retreat or even in our personal
prayer. What we need to ensure is that we do not place obstacles and
limits and ways as to how He is to enter into our lives. If we limit Him
in His coming, then we are saying that the Kingdom of God must come in ways
that we are comfortable with. But precisely, God wants to come in
surprising ways so that we can recognize His power and His love. The
greater the surprise, the more radical the encounter with God, just as in the
case of St Peter in the miraculous catch of fish and St Paul’s encounter with
the Lord at Damascus.
If we are humble enough
to submit to the plan of God, then Jesus tells us that we will be even greater
than John the Baptist. “I
tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the
Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater
than he is.” John the Baptist did not see the passion, death and resurrection
of our Lord. We are privileged people to have heard the Lord in the
gospel, encountered Him in the resurrection and received Him in the Eucharist
and His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When that
happens, we too could affirm that the prophecy of Isaiah is true, “In the
wilderness I will put cedar trees, acacias, myrtles, olives. In the desert, I
will plant juniper, plane tree and cypress side by side; so that men may see
and know, may all observe and understand that the hand of the Lord has done
this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.” So let us open
our ears and hearts by responding to the call for conversion, sincere
repentance, expectant prayer and waiting for the Lord to come. If we have
the opportunity, take time off for a retreat or for silent prayers. It
will do us a lot of good as we wrap up the year so that we can re-orientate
ourselves for the New Year, learning from our mistakes and refocusing
ourselves. He is coming! Are you available? Are your
hearts open? Are your ears attentive to His voice?
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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