20201209 GOD WHO IS ALMIGHTY AND FATHER
09 December, 2020, Wednesday, 2nd Week of Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Violet.
First reading | Isaiah 40:25-31 © |
The Lord strengthens the powerless
‘To whom could you liken me
and who could be my equal?’ says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look.
Who made these stars
if not he who drills them like an army,
calling each one by name?
So mighty is his power, so great his strength,
that not one fails to answer.
How can you say, Jacob,
how can you insist, Israel,
‘My destiny is hidden from the Lord,
my rights are ignored by my God’?
Did you not know?
Had you not heard?
The Lord is an everlasting God,
he created the boundaries of the earth.
He does not grow tired or weary,
his understanding is beyond fathoming.
He gives strength to the wearied,
he strengthens the powerless.
Young men may grow tired and weary,
youths may stumble,
but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength,
they put out wings like eagles.
They run and do not grow weary,
walk and never tire.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 102(103):1-4,8,10 © |
My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Behold, our Lord will come with power
and will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Look, the Lord will come to save his people.
Blessed those who are ready to meet him.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 11:28-30 © |
My yoke is easy and my burden light
Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
GOD WHO IS ALMIGHTY AND FATHER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 40:25-31; PS 103:1-4,8,10; MATTHEW 11:28-30 ]
Israel, in the first reading, was going through difficult times. They had lost their land, their Temple and their kingdom. Exiled in Babylon, they felt abandoned by God. They said, “My destiny is hidden from the Lord, my rights are ignored by my God” Indeed, when we are suffering or going through trials in life, especially when we suffer injustices or even from the consequences of our own folly, we feel the abandonment of God, that He does not care anymore. We cannot feel His presence and His help.
As a consequence, like the Israelites, we are tempted to think that our God is perhaps not so powerful after all. He cannot help us to solve our problems. Indeed, some of the Israelites were wondering if the Babylonian creator-god, Marduk, could be the real God instead, since Babylon seems to be thriving. This explains why earlier on in this chapter, Deutero-Isaiah took pains to underscore that the God of Israel was also the Creator God. “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.” (Isa 40:12,22f)
Truly, our God is all powerful. We should never doubt His omnipotence. Indeed, the Lord said, “To whom could you liken me and who could be my equal? Lift your eyes and look. Who made these stars if not he who drills them like an army, calling each one by name? So mighty is his power, so great his strength, that not one fails to answer.” Isaiah concluded, “The Lord is an everlasting God; he created the boundaries of the earth.” We might not understand His ways because He is after all the wise God. Isaiah asked, “Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him? Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” (Isa 40:13f)
But this majesty of God does not make Him become so far away that we dare not approach Him. God’s majesty, power and glory does not make us subservient or afraid of Him. Yes, we are in awe of His power and might but we come to Him not as a subject of a king but as His sons and daughters. This is what the gospel seeks to do in balancing God’s omnipotence with His intimacy with us. This closeness of God with us is expressed in His Fatherhood, not just in His Kingship. God is our King but we are also His sons and daughters. We are therefore called to approach God as His sons and daughters.
Jesus shows us the way. God is firstly the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just before today’s gospel text, Jesus told His disciples, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Mt 11:27) Jesus was conscious of His divine sonship. He lived in deep intimacy with His Father. He was always in constant contact with Him in prayer. He would go to the mountains, hills or deserted places to commune with His Father. Before He made any critical decisions, whether it was appointing His apostles (cf Lk 6:12ff), or going to Jerusalem, He would go up to the mountain or hill to consult His Father. (Lk 9:28ff) He needed to hear Him again as He heard Him at His baptism, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17; cf Lk 9:35) Because Jesus knew His Father, He could surrender His entire life to Him. Jesus said, “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.” (Jn 14:31)
We too must be like little children if we want to experience the Father’s loving care for us. Jesus said earlier on, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” Only the humble and the simple can come to encounter the Father’s love. Without trust in God’s love and His wisdom, we cannot entrust our entire life to Him. Those of us who are proud of our intelligence, thinking that all answers are found through reason and science will not be able to find Him. We must come to God like children who surrender themselves to their parents’ wisdom and love.
This is what the Lord seeks to do for us. He wants us to reclaim our sonship and daughtership in Him. Jesus came to reveal to us that our almighty God is also Father. This God is one who provides all our needs. He told His disciples “when you pray, say, ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.'” (Lk 11:2) In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord said, “For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed, your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt 6:32f) This God who is all powerful is also merciful and compassionate. Jesus asked us to imitate His Father’s love. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Mt 5:44f)
So if today, we are feeling like the Israelites, we are burdened by the yoke of our sins and guilt, we must turn to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness. This is what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.” Many of us are carrying the yoke of our past, our failures in life for which we cannot forgive ourselves, the sins we have committed against our loved ones which continue to grieve us, and the guilt that lies heavy on our conscience. These are the yokes that weigh us down and take away the joy and freedom from our lives. We live in fear of our past sins and offences being discovered. We live every day with an axe hanging over our head. We live in fear of the punishments that could come. We feel ashamed of ourselves.
If we are feeling that way, then remember the Lord has carried the yoke for us already. This is why He said, “Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” St Peter wrote, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” (1 Pt 2:24f) St Paul said, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Writing to the Galatians, St Paul wrote, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ – in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Gal 3:13f)
Secondly, if we feel weary and tired because of the responsibilities on our shoulders for our family, loved ones, for the Church, for society and for our organization, then we must learn to carry the yoke with Jesus. When we carry our burdens with love, then the burden will be made lighter. He said, “Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” It is only when we carry out duties and responsibilities in life grudgingly and selfishly, then the burden becomes truly heavy. What is needed is a change of attitude and a change of heart. Instead of seeing our responsibilities as tasks to be performed, see them as opportunities for love. With the words of Isaiah, let us place our hope in God. “He does not grow tired or weary, his understanding is beyond fathoming. He gives strength to the wearied, he strengthens the powerless. Young men may grow tired and weary, youths may stumble, but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength, they put out wings like eagles. They run and do not grow weary, walk and never tire.” Resting in His love and strength, we will overcome all things.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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