20201230 LOVING THE WORLD AS GOD LOVES THE WORLD
30 December, 2020, Wednesday, 6th Day Within the Octave of Christmas
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
First reading | 1 John 2:12-17 © |
Observance of the will of God
I am writing to you, my own children,
whose sins have already been forgiven through his name;
I am writing to you, fathers,
who have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I am writing to you, young men,
who have already overcome the Evil One;
I have written to you, children,
because you already know the Father;
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong and God’s word has made its home in you,
and you have overcome the Evil One.
You must not love this passing world
or anything that is in the world.
The love of the Father cannot be
in any man who loves the world,
because nothing the world has to offer
– the sensual body,
the lustful eye,
pride in possessions –
could ever come from the Father
but only from the world;
and the world, with all it craves for,
is coming to an end;
but anyone who does the will of God
remains for ever.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 95(96):7-10 © |
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Bring an offering and enter his courts,
worship the Lord in his temple.
O earth, tremble before him.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Gospel Acclamation | Heb1:1-2 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
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.
Alleluia!
Or: |
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 | Luke 2:36-40 © |
Anna speaks of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem
There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
LOVING THE WORLD AS GOD LOVES THE WORLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 John 2:12-17; Ps 96:7-10; Luke 2:36-40]
In the gospel, St John wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:16f) Christmas celebrates God’s love for the world and His desire to sanctify this world by making the world part of Himself. Indeed, it is God’s plan that creation and humanity reflect the beauty and the goodness of God’s love and wisdom. As the refrain in our responsorial psalm says, “Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.”
However, the world must be loved according to the way God loves the world and Christ loves us. Only then can this world be rightly appreciated and be used in a way that benefits humanity and the entire creation. We are called to be stewards of God’s creation, to be “fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gn 1:28) Unfortunately, instead of being stewards, many of us have become slaves of the world. As a consequence, instead of using the world to glorify God, serve humanity and the common good, the world has become a source of temptation, distraction and destruction for us.
This is what St John is warning us in the first reading. Whilst on one hand, he underscored that Jesus the Son of God had come in the flesh, he was equally concerned about going to the other extreme of living only in the flesh. Hence, he wrote, “You must not love this passing world or anything that is in the world.” Thus, we must distinguish the use of the term “world.” It can be used in a positive sense to refer to the beauty of God’s creation, or in a negative sense as in allowing ourselves to be seduced by the world to satisfy our selfish and self-centered desires manifested, as St John said, in “the sensual body, the lustful eye, pride in possessions.”
Indeed, because we are constituted of matter, human beings desire comfort and sensual pleasures. We enjoy sex, food and drink, all the comforts of life. Many find difficulty in detachment from such pleasures and are often addicted to them. They are easily tempted to sex even outside marriage, excessive eating and drinking. The present generation is not interested so much in forming beautiful and lasting relationships but in physical love. This is why many relationships do not last because the emphasis is on pleasure, not sacrificial love. We are afraid of physical pain and discomfort. This is why we are so insecure that we do not have enough money to last us through our retirement because we cannot tolerate a life without the comforts of this world.
But physical pleasure is not sufficient to keep us satisfied. We are also tempted by the “lustful eye.” Our eyes make us desire things in life. Not only things, but also fame, wealth, power and glory. Seeing is the first step to conceiving something in our minds and in our hearts, which then gives birth to an action. Greed comes because of the lustful eyes which contaminate the mind. The eyes cause us to feel envious of others who have more. Eve was tempted in this manner. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.” (Gn 3:6) This is how the Devil tempts us, by planting such desires in our minds.
But most of all, we are tempted by pride, which comes in the form of possessions. This is the main cause of pride. Possessions, not just in terms of material wealth but intellectual knowledge, power and glory. When we think we are self-sufficient, we become very proud of ourselves. We deceive ourselves into believing that we have full control over our lives and the lives of others. We listen to no one and trust only in ourselves. Pride is the greatest of all sins and the downfall of humanity. Pride leads to relativism, individualism and atheism. The world has become arrogant because we think we know what to do and we do not need God to rule our lives. We only know what is best for us and we know no laws. We rely on no one but ourselves and our power and knowledge.
Indeed, St John warns us, “The love of the Father cannot be in any man who loves the world, because nothing the world has to offercould ever come from the Father but only from the world; and the world, with all it craves for, is coming to an end; but anyone who does the will of God remains forever.” The truth is that this world is transitory. What this world offers cannot last. For those who seek after pleasure, the moment they are satisfied, the joy is over. There is emptiness after the euphoria. Only those who serve God and is true to His divine plan for creation and humanity will find true fulfillment and happiness. Those who seek the world will ultimately perish because the things of this world cannot last.
What, then, must we do to overcome the world and how can we use the world for the good of everyone? St John gives us three guidelines. Firstly, we need to encounter the Father’s love through forgiveness in Jesus. St John wrote, “I am writing to you, my own children, whose sins have already been forgiven through his name; I have written to you, children, because you already know the Father.” The birth of Christ is God’s gift to the world. Through Christ, His life, passion, death and resurrection will reveal to us the mercy of God. Therefore, we must begin by acknowledging our inadequacies and sinfulness. We do not have to be morally perfect because we are all sinners. But we can turn to Him knowing that He is there to guide us and lead us, and forgive us whenever we fall into sin. Humility in recognizing one’s inadequacy and dependence on God for His mercy and forgiveness is the beginning of a conversion experience. When we encounter His love and mercy, we are “children” in faith. This is just the beginning of the journey of faith.
Secondly, from encountering God’s love and mercy in Christ, we are called to make progress in our faith. This is the stage of youthfulness or adolescence when we grow in maturity in our knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. St John wrote, “I am writing to you, young men, who have already overcome the Evil One.” And how did they do it? St John said, “because you are strong and God’s word has made its home in you.” Finding foundation in God’s word is where we can safeguard ourselves. The Word of God remains for us our armor against the deceptions of the Evil One. “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph 6:17)
Thirdly, our ultimate foundation is in God alone who is the source of all light, truth and good. Twice, St John wrote, “I am writing to you, fathers, who have come to know the one who has existed since the beginning.” When we come to realize that God is the source of life and therefore our goal as well, then we will not cling on to this world. We will accept creation as a gift from God and use it for His glory, reflecting His love and His goodness to us and the rest of humanity. We remain humble even when we are blessed with His gifts. In this way, we will never be attached to them as if they are the ultimate in life. At the end of the day, only God counts.
This is what the prophetess Anna is teaching us by her life. “She had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer.” She found solace and comfort in serving God for the rest of her life instead of lamenting the loss of her husband. She did not cling even to her husband. She was willing to let go and move on with her life. She knew where her true future and destiny lay. So when Jesus was presented at the temple, “she came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.” So let us learn from the Holy Family where Joseph and Mary walked the light by being faithful to the Laws, and Jesus who took time to grow in age and maturity, guided by His parents’ and with God’s favour upon Him.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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