20201225 GLORY OF GOD IS FOUND IN SIMPLICITY
25 December, 2020, Friday, The Nativity of the Lord
First reading | Isaiah 52:7-10 © |
Rejoice, for the Lord is consoling his people
How beautiful on the mountains,
are the feet of one who brings good news,
who heralds peace, brings happiness,
proclaims salvation,
and tells Zion,
‘Your God is king!’
Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices,
they shout for joy together,
for they see the Lord face to face,
as he returns to Zion.
Break into shouts of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord is consoling his people,
redeeming Jerusalem.
The Lord bares his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-6 © |
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Second reading | Hebrews 1:1-6 © |
God has spoken to us through his Son
At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
God has never said to any angel: You are my Son, today I have become your father;or: I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Again, when he brings the First-Born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God worship him.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A hallowed day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, worship the Lord,
for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 1:1-18 © |
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us
In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me
because he existed before me.’
Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart,
who has made him known.
GLORY OF GOD IS FOUND IN SIMPLICITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Sam 7:1-5,8-12,14,16; Luke 1:67-79 ]
“The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.” Who are those who are walking in darkness and in a land of deep shadow? Yesterday, I visited an elderly lady. She is already 94 years old. She can still look after herself although she needs help in her walking. Her son is abroad working most of the time. She is looked after by a helper. And she lamented to me, “My health is generally very good. I have no illness. Alas, because I am in such good health, how can I die?” She is tired of living and life has become meaningless for her. She is just waiting for God to take her home. I also visited an elderly priest who is very sickly. He is not able to walk and he said to me, “I told God to take me home but he makes me wait.” I quipped with him that St Peter is busy dealing with the Covid-19 cases. They have priority for admission. Indeed, those who are already far advanced in age and whose work is done, whose children have grown up and flown the coup, and who are no longer mobile, what is the meaning of life when they are imprisoned by four walls and entertained by a TV?
But the irony is that not only do the elderly and sickly find no meaning and purpose in life, even healthy and active people are also walking in darkness and in a land of deep shadow. What is life for us who are active still and relatively healthy? We face so much stress in life every day over our family, our children, our work, our business, our finance and difficult relationships. Whilst some of us are striving to build up our career, accumulate wealth and property, making ourselves famous and increasing our status in life, yet there is no real peace and joy in life. All we have are temporary pleasures and some ego boosting trips. At such moments, we begin again to wonder what life is all about. Why is it that all these pursuits of dreams cannot satisfy us and fulfil our lives?
The truth about our existence is found in the ordinariness of life, not in big things, not the bright lights, not in riches and wealth, not in the palace. The birth of Christ brings us in touch with the glory of God shining in the simplicity and innocence of a baby, born in a manger unknown to many people. God came to the world not in His majesty and glory but in the baby Jesus so that we all can draw near to Him without feeling threatened and intimidated by Him. In the baby Jesus, God draws our hearts to Him. God did not come as a powerful king, in His royal robes or as a great erudite professor. He came in a harmless manner, as a baby in swaddling clothes. We are all moved by a baby or a child in his innocence or in his need. We want to hug and to protect that child. A baby or a child helps us to be in touch with our humanity, our feelings and the love of God in us.
Very often in life, we try to find meaning and purpose and happiness in big things. We think we can be happy only if we have great achievements to show to people. We feel great about ourselves only when we are dressed glamorously. Even at Christmas, many of us risk falling into a hedonistic consumeristic attitude by just focusing on buying and exchanging gifts and dinning in plenty and in style. Yet at the end of the day, we ask ourselves, has our Christmas been truly meaningful and joyful? Indeed, we can be so caught up with activities during the Christmas season that we miss out what is most important – to discover the glory of God in our midst.
I visited an elderly couple in a one room HDB flat. In that apartment and in that elderly couple, I was moved to tears for I could see the glory of God present there. She was in her 70’s and the other in his late 80’s and unable to walk. I saw the way she cared for the sick man. Their life was so simple. They have two meals a day, delivered by volunteers to their house, one packet for lunch and one packet for dinner. The meal consists of just one scoop of vegetables and one scoop of meat and fish with rice. Both of them share one packet of food. Normally, it costs them 60 cents a meal as this comes from a Hindu Welfare Home. But they were overjoyed when they were told that their meals for this year have all been paid for by a benefactor. When I saw two young girls delivering the meals to the homes and the food being given by a Hindu Welfare Home, I was very touched how God’s love and compassion does not distinguish between people by race, language or religion. Love indeed is the universal language. I was so inspired by these non-Christians reaching out to the poor.
But my experience of God’s glory was in the way the elderly couple lived their lives. They were so appreciative of small things. She was telling me that as a pioneer she received two $150 NTUC vouchers to buy groceries for the year. Furthermore, this year, she does not have to pay for her Utility bills. And she told me which day she would go to NTUC because on certain days, she gets 2 or 3% discount as well. She was so grateful for the little help that she could get. But they were not greedy. They accepted graciously what was given. They never complained. In fact, they were relatively happy and cheerful, full of faith in God.
After I left the house, so many thoughts and emotions went through my heart. As a priest, I have never bothered about food, accommodation or money, or even medical needs. I am very contented with what I have and what is given. I only have to focus and give my entire life to the ministry of teaching, healing, governing, growing the Church and the work of evangelization. I never thought much of what has been given to me, the food that is prepared for me. And I realized that my mind is so absorbed in the ministry and my work that I have forgotten to see the glory of God in such small things. For the poor, such things give them so much joy and hope.
Indeed, it is the small things in life that make us truly happy. I like to narrate to you a hellish experience I went through recently. For almost a month I could not sleep. Normally, I don’t have a problem sleeping. The moment my head hits the pillow, I would fall asleep within minutes. Then one day, someone asked me, “Father, how do you fall asleep?” I thought it was such a stupid question. I replied, “I just sleep.” Then it got me thinking how I fall asleep. I became conscious of how I fall asleep and that prevented me from falling asleep. And the more I said to myself, “don’t think of how I am falling asleep” the more I worry about how not to think that I am falling asleep. And so, for that month I was almost like a zombie because I hardly slept and never fell into deep sleep. And I came to the conclusion that the wealth of all the world, if given to me, would be nothing compared to having a good night’s sleep. I would not exchange anything for a good and peaceful sleep. This is why I feel sorry for those who have plenty of wealth, a comfortable bed but cannot sleep!
Indeed, where is God to be found? He is found in the ordinariness of life. If only we would pay attention to what we already have. If we are grateful and do not take things for granted, our blessings in life, we will find God. He is found in the manger! “The angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.'”
Secondly, He is found most of all in human love and compassion. God is found when we are in touch with our heart, which is created for love, understanding and fellowship. God is found in authentic human friendships when there is true exchange of love and sharing of life. The greatest gift at Christmas is not the giving of things but the giving of ourselves, not presents but our presence. It is the joy of intimacy with our loved ones and friends. St Paul wrote, “God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world.” Living for others and touching their hearts by our love, care, concern and friendship is where the glory of God is revealed through us and in those whom we serve.
Let us learn simplicity from Mary and Joseph, and the lowly and uneducated shepherds. To such people, God reveals His glory. Jesus the Prince of Peace has come to take our yoke of anxiety, ambition, selfishness and insecurity away. He has come to share His spoils with us. Indeed, Christ “sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.” In Christ, the yoke of oppression and meaninglessness in life is taken away.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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