20211215 ASKING HONEST QUESTIONS
15 December, 2021, Wednesday, 3rd Week of Advent
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 © |
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.’
ASKING HONEST QUESTIONS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-26; Ps 85:9-14; Luke 7:19-23 ]
In the gospel, John the Baptist, languishing in prison, was troubled because he knew his days were numbered. He was not afraid of martyrdom and death but he was concerned whether he had accomplished his mission of being the forerunner of the Messiah. Before John the Baptist could depart from this world peacefully, he needed to be assured that Jesus was indeed the Messiah that he pointed out to his disciples to follow. He had heard of the miracles that Jesus performed but He was not the kind of Messiah he had expected. He had then prophesied how the Messiah would act. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Mt 3:11f)
Indeed, Jesus was not the kind of Messiah that John the Baptist expected. John’s preaching was like that of the prophet Elijah, one that struck the hearts of his listeners with strong words calling for repentance. The tone was fiery and stern. He expected the Messiah to use might and power to demolish the enemies of God. But all he could see was the religious institutions remaining self-righteous and proud, the political leaders, such as King Herod and Herodias, living a comfortable life, the Romans were still controlling the country. There was nothing of the show of strength and a build-up of the army to restore the kingdom of David.
Instead, the ministry of Jesus was so different from that of John the Baptist. He was very compassionate. He was eating and drinking with sinners. He welcomed the tax collectors. He reached out to the prostitutes. He had women attending to His needs. He was one with the ordinary people in their daily life. He did not condemn sinners except the self-righteous religious leaders. He was breaking the laws. He did not fast regularly like the rest of the Jews. This made him wonder, “Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?”
What was the response of our Lord? “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.” Indeed, the messianic fulfilment of restoration is confirmed in His curing many people of diseases and afflictions and of evil spirits. This fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.” (Isa 35:5f; cf Isa 61:1f) The truth is that the restoration of Israel is not to be seen in political terms but in personal terms. That Jesus is truly the Messiah would eventually be established by His passion, death and resurrection.
We, too, could be asking honest questions like John the Baptist. We are confused over the ways God works in our lives. We do not understand why we still suffer tragedies in our family and personal life even though we have been faithful to Him. We have been discriminated and often unappreciated at our workplace, in our Catholic community and in the organizations we are in. We might even have lost our job, have difficulty managing our grown-up children, are dealing with the infidelity of our spouse, or even suffered the death of our loved ones, particularly a tragic death. How could God allow such unpleasant and unfortunate events to happen to us? Does He care for us? Is He truly a powerful God? Can He save us? Can He transform our lives? Or should we turn to pagan gods instead, since their gods seem to come to their help more than ours, giving them wealth and prosperity in their business and success in their work?
If we are feeling this way, we can also identify with the Israelites. They were in exile and they were scandalized that the gods of the Babylonians seemed to be more powerful than the God of Israel because they lost their kingdom and the Temple to them. It seemed that Yahweh was helpless before the pagan gods. Furthermore, what was even more shocking was Isaiah’s prophecy that God would send a pagan King under the name of Cyrus to restore the fortunes of Israel. God would call him His anointed One, and the shepherd of Israel, which was reserved only for the Davidic Kings of Israel. Of Cyrus, the Lord said, “He is my shepherd, and he shall carry out all my purpose”; and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” (Isa 45:28) Addressing him as His anointed, the prophet said, “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him – and the gates shall not be closed.” (Isa 45:1)
The truth is that God’s plan is not man’s plan. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:8f) Cyrus had received his commission from God. The victories did not come from him but were given by God. It was given so that he might come to know that the Lord is the God of Israel and that this would be done for the sake of Israel. (Isa 45:3f) Twice, the prophet said, God has called Cyrus “by name” even though Cyrus did not know Him. (Isa 45:3f) Such is the power of God’s Lordship over the entire history of humanity and creation because He knew the name of one who did not even know Him. Indeed, there is none like our God. He is unique.
Truly, the God of Israel is the only Lord of creation and humanity. Isaiah affirmed His sovereignty when he said, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.” (Isa 45:5-7) Indeed, God is our only creator and Lord. This is reiterated again by Isaiah, “Woe to you who strive with your Maker, earthen vessels with the potter! Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, ‘What are you making’? or ‘Your work has no handles’?” (Isa 45:9f) How, then, the Lord our maker asked, “Will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands? I made the earth, and created humankind upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens.” (Isa 45:11f)
In the light of what is spoken, God has power over good and evil, “who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!)” (Isa 45:18) it means that we must turn to Him and trust in His divine providence and plan for our salvation. Indeed, as the Lord 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.” God is faithful to His word. “By my own self I swear it; what comes from my mouth is truth, a word irrevocable.” Hence, we are called to bow down before the God of surprises and trust in His plans. Rightly so, therefore, as the Lord commands, “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.”
As we prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us therefore affirm our faith in Him as the Messiah and the Lord. He is ultimately the one whom St Paul confessed as the Anointed One of God, for “God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11) We can submit our lives to Him for He is the fulfilment of God’s plan for our salvation. He saves us in unimaginable ways, by His death and resurrection!
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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