20211221 BEARER OF JOY
21 December, 2021, Tuesday, 4th Week of Advent
First reading |
Song of Songs 2:8-14 © |
See how my Beloved comes, leaping on the mountains
I hear my Beloved.
See how he comes
leaping on the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My Beloved is like a gazelle,
like a young stag.
See where he stands
behind our wall.
He looks in at the window,
he peers through the lattice.
My Beloved lifts up his voice,
he says to me,
‘Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
For see, winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth.
The season of glad songs has come,
the cooing of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree is forming its first figs
and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance.
Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock,
in the coverts of the cliff,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet
and your face is beautiful.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 32(33):2-3,11-12,20-21 © |
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
His own designs shall stand for ever,
the plans of his heart from age to age.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in his holy name.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Key of David, who open the gates of the eternal kingdom,
come to liberate from prison
the captive who lives in darkness.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Emmanuel,
our king and lawgiver,
come and save us,
Lord our God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:39-45 © |
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
BEARER OF JOY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Songs 2:8-14, or Zep 3:14-18a; Ps 33; Luke 1:39-45]
When we are waiting for someone whom we love, or some dignitary to visit us, we are always full of anxiety and excitement. There is the expectant joy of knowing that someone whom we miss so much and long to see is coming to be with us, as is described in the Song of Songs. Just to know that the person is near or is around would fill us with great anticipation and excitement. “I hear my Beloved. See how he comes leaping on the mountains, bounding over the hills. My Beloved is like a gazelle, like a young stag. See where he stands behind our wall. He looks in at the window, he peers through the lattice.”
The question is, do we have the same joy and excitement in welcoming our Lord at Christmas? How do you feel, knowing that Christmas is near? Do you look forward to the celebration of our Lord’s birth? Are you excited or filled with joy knowing that He is near? The truth is that some of us are more excited and anxious about the presents we are going to receive, the dinners or celebrations we will have, the clothes we will wear, and the decorations we will put up. Our focus is misplaced. We are more interested in the fun, the fellowship, the pleasure and the material celebration than about Jesus.
Yet, the truth remains that without Christ, there is no Christmas. The heart of our celebration is allowing Christ to be born in our hearts. The heart of our celebration is to know that Jesus is with us and has entered into our lives. With Jesus in our heart, we are at peace. We are filled with the joy of the Spirit, leading us to live a life of kindness and goodness. In fact, the material aspects of the celebration are secondary. They are but expressions of the interior joy in us. Without the interior joy, the external celebration will be shallow and hollow. It is like calling for a birthday party but the birthday boy does not turn up.
Indeed, in the gospel, we read of the great joy of Elizabeth and John the Baptist when Christ came in their midst. “Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.'” The joy of Elizabeth and John the Baptist were sincere. There was no pretence of whatever sort but a pure joy that sprang from their hearts. This was because they recognized who the baby was in the womb of Mary, the Son of God, the Messiah and the Saviour of the world. He was, as the angel said, the Emmanuel, God with us.
If we find no joy in our hearts yet, even though Christmas is a few days away, we must ask ourselves what is blocking us from experiencing the joy of Mary, Elizabeth and John the Baptist. Firstly, we need to have a strong faith. Elizabeth said to Mary, “Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” To encounter the Lord, we must have faith in Him. Faith in the Lord enables us to encounter Him. It was Mary’s faith in the angel’s announcement that led to the Lord taking flesh in her womb. It was Elizabeth’s faith which was already stirred up by the birth of John the Baptist in her old age that led us to grow from faith to faith. Because she was open to the Spirit of God in her life and was in touch with the Spirit, the Spirit prompted her to immediately recognize our Lord in Mary’s womb, even before she was told that Mary was pregnant with the child Jesus. Mary did not have to explain how she came to be with child when she was not yet staying together with Joseph. Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was able to perceive the child as truly the Son of God because she said, “Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?” Not only the mother of the Lord but the Lord Himself!
Secondly, we require humility to recognize the Lord when He comes. We read that Elizabeth and John the Baptist were filled with joy. There are some of us who are only joyful that others are less successful or blessed than them. A young man initially was very happy when he got a job with a five-figure salary. But when he heard that his friend got much more than him or had better perks, he lost his joy. Or a person was overjoyed when he heard that he had won a prize in the lottery, until he heard that his neighbour had struck the first prize. When our joy is dependent on the failure of others, it is very difficult to remain joyful for long because there will always be someone who is better than us.
In the case of Elizabeth and John the Baptist, they were playing second fiddle to Mary and our Lord. Elizabeth was only the mother of the forerunner of our Lord and John the Baptist was called to prepare the way for the Lord. He was not the Messiah. He was only a messenger to turn the hearts of people so that they could recognize the Messiah when He comes. Yet, both were never envious of Mary and our Lord. They were equally happy and joyful that Mary was called to be the mother of our Lord. They could sincerely praise God and praise Mary for her faith in the Lord. There was no tinge of jealousy or resentment.
Indeed, true joy comes from our recognition of God’s plan for us in life and the part that we are called to play in His plan. It does not matter whether we hold an important position or a high office or not. What matters is that we are responsible in whatever role is assigned to us. Great joy lies not in positions but to know that we have done our best and our conscience is clear. This is what the Lord said of Mary when a woman in the crowd said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Lk 11:27f) One is truly blessed when one has done the will of God. To be chosen in whatever capacity to fulfil the plan of God is already a great blessing in itself. Elizabeth and John the Baptist knew their place in life. As John the Baptist humbly 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)
Thirdly, we must remove the sinful attachments from our life. We must be willing to repent of our sins that block us from finding peace and joy in life. It is our sin of attachment, anger, pride, jealousy and greed that hinder us from receiving the joy and peace of Christ. The prophet Zephaniah told the Israelites in exile, “Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away. The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you have no more evil to fear.” Their repentance paved the way for the Lord to restore them to gladness and joy. “He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.” So too, we must prepare ourselves by removing the obstacles to happiness through prayer and reconciliation. No longer must we hide from Him. “My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock, in the coverts of the cliff, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is beautiful.”
The Lord is inviting us to receive Him. “My Beloved lifts up his voice, he says to me, ‘Come then, my love, my lovely one, come. For see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth. The season of glad songs has come.” He comes to us in many ways. He comes to us in the Blessed Virgin Mary who brought the Lord to meet Elizabeth and John the Baptist. John the Baptist prepared the hearts of the people to receive Him. We too must play our part in bringing Jesus to others. By our love, by our words of encouragement and by the sharing of our faith, we can inspire others to come to know the Lord and find peace and joy through Him. Let us be like Mary and Elizabeth and John the Baptist by sharing our joys with others so that in the process of sharing our joys and especially our faith in Christ, that joy would be doubled and faith increased.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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