20201216 LIVING WITH LIGHT AND DARKNESS
16 December, 2020, Wednesday, 3rd Week of Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Violet.
First reading |
Isaiah 45:6-8,18,21-25 © |
I, the Lord, shall create deliverance
Apart from me, all is nothing.
I am the Lord, unrivalled,
I form the light and create the dark.
I make good fortune and create calamity,
it is I, the Lord, who do all this.
Send victory like a dew, you heavens,
and let the clouds rain it down.
Let the earth open
for salvation to spring up.
Let deliverance, too, bud forth
which I, the Lord, shall create.
Yes, thus says the Lord,
creator of the heavens,
who is God,
who formed the earth and made it,
who set it firm,
created it no chaos,
but a place to be lived in:
‘I am the Lord, unrivalled:
there is no other god besides me.
A God of integrity and a saviour:
there is none apart from me.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth,
for I am God unrivalled.
‘By my own self I swear it;
what comes from my mouth is truth,
a word irrevocable:
before me every knee shall bend,
by me every tongue shall swear,
saying, “From the Lord alone
come victory and strength.”
To him shall come, ashamed,
all who raged against him.
Victorious and glorious through the Lord shall be
all the descendants of Israel.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 84(85):9-14(Advent) © |
Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in our land.
Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from heaven.
Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps.
Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.
Gospel Acclamation | Is55:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Alleluia!
Or: | Is40:9-10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Shout with a loud voice, joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Here is the Lord God coming with power.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 7:19-23 © |
'Are you the one who is to come?'
John, summoning two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?’ When the men reached Jesus they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you, to ask, “Are you the one who is to come or have we to wait for someone else?”’ It was just then that he cured many people of diseases and afflictions and of evil spirits, and gave the gift of sight to many who were blind. Then he gave the messengers their answer, ‘Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’
LIVING WITH LIGHT AND DARKNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-26; Ps 85:9-14; Luke 7:19-23 ]
Life is very complex. We seek total clarity. We want things to be precise and clearly spelt out. We do not like grey areas. Things for us must either be right or wrong, true or false, good or bad. There can be no in-between because that would be considered moral relativism. We feel unsettled when we live in ambiguity. These are the absolutists. They leave no room for the mystery of good and evil working in our lives. Relativism causes us uneasiness.
This was the same thing that troubled John the Baptist when he was in prison. “John, summoning two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?” Why was he puzzled? He knew his end was near and he was concerned whether he had accomplished his mission, which was to prepare the way for the Lord, the coming of the Messiah. His message was exacting and without compromise. He called for repentance. There was no question of accommodating evil and falsehood. After all, John was a member of the rigorist sect of the Essenes at Qumran. He was waging a war against the children of darkness. There was to be no compromise in accepting sinners. But the ministry of Jesus gave John much cause for concern. Jesus was drawing in the tax-collectors and prostitutes. He was having meals with them. He was even said to be “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” (Mt 11:19) He broke the laws including the Sabbath. Indeed, Jesus was not the conventional prophet that the people were used to. Jesus came and taught in an unusual and surprising way. So was He the Messiah or not?
The doubts of John the Baptist are also our doubts. Just as many of Jesus’ contemporaries, especially the religious leaders, had doubts about Jesus, so too many in the world, including so-called Christians, have doubts about Him. Is He really the Son of God? Is there eternal life and life after death? Is He truly the Savior of the world? Is the Church really the Church of Christ? If it were so, how come only one third of the world’s population believe in Him? If so, how come the Church is so divided, within each communion and between the different communions? Why does the Church teach contradictory doctrines, including morality? So our doubts are as old as those people who asked about Jesus during His ministry.
Yet doubts and the lack of clarity help to deepen our reflection and our understanding of our faith in Jesus. Such was the case of John the Baptist. He was not afraid to confront our Lord when he was unsure. He was honest with Him. And Jesus was pleased with his question because it gave Him the opportunity to explain Himself to others around Him because John’s question too was the question of many others. Jesus used this occasion of doubt to clarify John’s role and His in the divine plan of God. Jesus made it clear to John’s disciples that His ministry was not of condemnation and punishment. He was reaching out to sinners by being with them and gradually bringing them back to God. He came to heal, to restore and to forgive, fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah, which was to proclaim the Good News to the poor. He told John’s disciples to tell their master what they saw. “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard; the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor.” (cf Isa 35:5-7, 26:19, 29:18-19 and 61:1)
The question is, are we ready to accept the newness of the gospel? The Lord remarked, “Happy is the man who does not lose faith in me!” In another translation, it says, “Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (NRSV) It means that we should not be scandalized by the way God works in and through Jesus, in ways that are surprising and unconventional. His ways should not be a stumbling block for faith but should inspire faith and awe at the way God works in our lives. God does not always work the way we expect but He works well!
Indeed, we too should look at our life with the perspective of God. The first reading tells us that God is ultimately in charge of this world, even if we do not see Him working clearly in our lives. He is our creator. He said, “I am the Lord, unrivalled; I form the light and create the dark. I make good fortune and create calamity, it is I, the Lord, who do all this.” God is in control of our history and the whole of creation. After all, it is as Isaiah says, “the Lord, creator of the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who set it firm, created it no chaos, but a place to be lived in.” This is why, like Job, we must accept everything from the Lord. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
We must accept the ambiguity of life since both light and darkness come from God, life and death, health and sickness. It is how we manage and integrate both lights and shadows in our life. We can use them for good or for evil. In times of goodness, we can praise God and thank Him for all our blessings. But we should not only have faith in God in times of joy and prosperity. We should continue to have faith in Him even when pain and disappointments come into our lives. We must use both strength and weakness, joys and sorrows for our good and the good of others. If we are rich and in good health, then we must use our riches to bless others and to serve them. If we are sick, we should continue to believe that Jesus wants to heal us even though He might not do for us this time. Indeed, in our moments of pain and darkness, God has His reason for us to go through such a period in our lives. Both light and darkness are important for us to see the perspective of life rightly.
This ability to accept the ambiguities of life requires a strong faith in Him regardless of the situation we are in. God is not just our creator but He is the Lord of History. He cannot be compared to any other gods in the world. In the context of Isaiah, Israel should never even have thought that the Babylonian gods were more powerful than Yahweh. God said, “I am the Lord, unrivalled, there is no other god besides me, a God of integrity and a saviour; there is none apart from me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God unrivalled. By my own self I swear it; what comes from my mouth is truth, a word irrevocable.”
Hence, the answer to John’s question, “have we to wait for someone else?” is obvious. Indeed, we might not understand His ways and the mystery of life. Because He is the Lord of creation and History, we are called to submit in faith to His divine plans as they unfold in our lives. God is with us in Jesus. God shows His radical intervention in History by the incarnation, passion and death of His Son. The death of Jesus would be the greatest scandal to anyone. But just as He could undo the death of His Son and overcome hatred with love, death with life, so too, God will transform all weaknesses to strength, sickness to health, hatred to love. So, we should surrender our lives to God’s omniscience and omnipotence. We might not have all the answers to the mystery of life and death, joy and suffering, but we know that in His divine plan, all these are taken into consideration. The end result if we cooperate with Him will always be for our good. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
John the Baptist in faith accepted the reply of Jesus to his disciples. The answer of Jesus not only assured John the Baptist but also prepared John’s disciples to follow Jesus. John the Baptist had already announced Him as the Messiah. By sending his disciples to see the works of Jesus, they would follow Him instead and so be given a share in His authority to continue the proclamation of the Good News. John the Baptist too would have cleared our doubts about Jesus. Let us therefore keep our eyes on Jesus. As we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, let us keep our eyes on Him knowing that the Lord is with us not just as creator but in our history, one with us and one of us. Jesus would be the One who shows us the way, to have complete trust in His Father, to carry the cross and follow after Him. In Jesus, we find strength to endure in our weakness, light in darkness, life in death. The Lord said, “before me every knee shall bend, by me every tongue shall swear, saying, ‘From the Lord alone come victory and strength.'”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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