20201223 WHAT WILL THIS CHILD IN CHRIST TURN OUT TO BE?
23 December, 2020, Wednesday, 4th Week of Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Violet.
First reading |
Malachi 3:1-4,23-24 © |
Before my day comes, I will send you Elijah my prophet
The Lord God says this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old.
Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 24(25):4-5,8-9,10,14 © |
Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.
Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble in the right path,
He teaches his way to the poor.
Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
His ways are faithfulness and love
for those who keep his covenant and law.
The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him;
to them he reveals his covenant.
Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
King of the peoples
and cornerstone of the Church,
come and save man,
whom you made from the dust of the earth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:57-66 © |
'His name is John'
The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.
Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
WHAT WILL THIS CHILD IN CHRIST TURN OUT TO BE?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Mal 3:1-4,23-24; Luke 1:57-66 ]
At the end of the gospel, the people were amazed and wondered, “What will this child turn out to be?” This is a question that the evangelist would want his readers to ask as well. Indeed, throughout the gospel, the identity of John the Baptist would surface especially during the ministry of Jesus. Already in today’s gospel, a sense of wonderment began when they heard of the miraculous birth of John the Baptist to a barren elderly woman and an old man.
But what was equally significant was on the day of circumcision, they expected the child to be named after the father. Instead Zachariah named him “John”, in obedience to the angel’s command. “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” (Lk 1:13-15) This was confirmed by Zechariah when the relatives objected. Zechariah “asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John’. And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God.” Indeed, Zechariah was able to get back his power of speech and hearing, which was lost by his lack of faith when the angel made the announcement to him. But because he obeyed this time by naming his child, “John”, he recovered his speech and hearing.
There is of course the added meaning that Zechariah was silent till John the Baptist’s voice was heard, symbolizing that the Word of God started to be heard again after the long silence without prophets since the days of the prophet Malachi, which was almost four hundred years between the Old Testament and the New Testament. With the birth of John the Baptist, the Word of God was once again heard through the voice of John the Baptist who prepared the people to welcome the Messiah. Indeed, John regarded himself not as the Word of God but only a voice crying out in the wilderness. He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,'” as the prophet Isaiah said. (Jn 1:23)
Again, the question of John’s identity came up again when he exercised his ministry in Jordan. The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” John the Baptist openly declared that he was not the Messiah, neither Elijah nor the prophet as foretold by Moses. (cf Jn 1:24-28; Dt 18:15) Then they persisted, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” (1 Jn 1:22) Who was he? St John said of John the Baptist. “He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” (Jn 1:6-9) This was affirmed by John the Baptist when he said that he was only a voice preparing the way of the Lord. Later on, he revealed more about his identity. He said to his disciples, “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason, my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:28-30)
After John the Baptist was arrested, put in prison and then beheaded, King Herod was again anxious and guilty for causing his death. He had heard about Jesus and what people were saying about Him. “‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.'” But others said, ‘It is Elijah. And others said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old. But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.'” (cf Mk 6:14-16)
What was the response of our Lord with regard to the identity of John the Baptist? “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” (cf Mt 11:11,14) Then later on, Jesus revealed to His disciples when they asked “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He replied, “‘Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.’ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.” (Mt 17:10-13)
Indeed, he is the one that fulfils the role of the messenger and the new Elijah as prophesied in the first reading of Malachi. “The Lord God says this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. His is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as the refiner and the purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made.” He fulfills the prophecy of the angel’s announcement. “Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.” (Lk 1:16f)
What is the most vital lesson we can learn from the life, birth and ministry of John the Baptist? Namely, that John the Baptist received his identity, his mission and his purpose in life from Christ. Everything that John the Baptist did was in relation to Christ. Indeed, without Christ, John the Baptist would have no bearing. His life was intertwined with Christ because he was the voice and Christ was the Word. He was only a friend of the Bridegroom whereas Jesus was the bridegroom. His mission was to prepare the people to receive Christ. This explains why when Christ came into the scene, it was timely that John the Baptist gradually withdrew from his ministry. We read, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'” (Jn 1:29f) His life and work centered around Christ and drew strength and purpose from Him.
When the time was opportune, he began to direct his disciples to the Lord. “The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.” (Jn 1:35-37) It could also have been the intention of John the Baptist to direct his disciples to the Lord when he was in prison, asking them to clarify for themselves whether Jesus was the Messiah that they were waiting for. The reply of Jesus to them was, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” (Mt 11:4f) Truly, his joy was fulfilled when “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 1:30)
We too must discover our identity, our mission and purpose in life in Christ. We must situate ourselves as Elizabeth and Zechariah, and Mary and Joseph did in the context of fulfilling the divine plan of God in our lives. We all have our parts to play in this world. Each one of us is placed in a certain family, community, office and the people we meet each day because we are to reveal to them their place, their identity and mission in life. Most of all, we are called to reveal Jesus to them through our words, actions and life. Parents, just like Elizabeth and Zechariah, or Hannah in the Old Testament, have a great responsibility to mentor and steer their children according to the plans that God has for them. This is why it is critical that we must lead them to Jesus who can then show them the way through the Holy Spirit. In this way, their lives will always be fruitful because they know their identity, purpose and role in life. It is when we live without a sense of mission, that we allow ourselves to drift along in life, and live a futile life. We can be fruitful like John the Baptist and when our journey is done and accomplished, we too can withdraw without any regrets because we have fulfilled our life.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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