20211205 RENEWING OUR DREAMS
05 December, 2021, Sunday, 2nd Week of Advent
First reading | Baruch 5:1-9 © |
God means to show your splendour to every nation
Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress,
put on the beauty of the glory of God for ever,
wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you,
put the diadem of the glory of the Eternal on your head:
since God means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven,
since the name God gives you for ever will be,
‘Peace through integrity, and honour through devotedness.’
Arise, Jerusalem, stand on the heights
and turn your eyes to the east:
see your sons reassembled from west and east
at the command of the Holy One, jubilant that God has remembered them.
Though they left you on foot,
with enemies for an escort,
now God brings them back to you
like royal princes carried back in glory.
For God has decreed the flattening
of each high mountain, of the everlasting hills,
the filling of the valleys to make the ground level
so that Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God.
And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade
for Israel at the command of God;
for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory
with his mercy and integrity for escort.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 125(126) © |
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves.
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
Second reading |
Philippians 1:4-6,8-11 © |
May you become pure and blameless in preparation for the day of Christ
Every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present. I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes; and God knows how much I miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus loves you. My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.
Gospel Acclamation | Lk3:4,6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight,
and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 3:1-6 © |
The call of John the Baptist
In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley will be filled in,
every mountain and hill be laid low,
winding ways will be straightened
and rough roads made smooth.
And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
RENEWING OUR DREAMS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Baruch 5:1-9; Ps 126:1-6; Phil 1:4-6.8-11; Lk 3:1-6 ]
We are in the midst of our celebration of Catholic200SG festival, culminating in the closing Mass next Sunday. Our theme is Ignite and Shine. Why the need to be ignited? This is because after 200 years of Catholicism in Singapore, there is a danger for some of us to be complacent about our Faith, taking it for granted, especially those of us who are cradle Catholics. Then there are many who feel disconnected with the Church either because they had no Catholic community, or they had been hurt or abandoned by the Church, or simply because they do not agree with the teachings of the Church. Finally, there are those who have lost their fervour for Christ, the Sacraments and the Church because they feel so distant, having stayed away from church and the Catholic Community for almost two years during this time of the Covid-19 Pandemic. In some sense, we are just like the Israelites that the prophet Baruch was addressing. He was a prophet to the exiled Israelites in Babylon. They had lost their homeland, their temple and their kingdom to the Babylonians. The temple was in ruins. They had lost all hope. And the new generations of Israelites who were born in Babylon had no attachment or ties to Jerusalem. Having settled down comfortably in their land of exile, they were not interested in returning to rebuild Jerusalem when the time of exile ended. Indeed, they had lost their faith in God.
What must we do to re-ignite our faith? We must look to the past with gratitude. Although St Paul was in prison and we would think that he would be depressed or feeling miserable, yet his letter to the Philippians was one that was filled with joy, gratitude and hope for the future. He wrote, “Every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present.” St Paul remembered the kindness of the Philippians, how they supported him and how they had grown as a Christian community. When he thought of the past, he was filled with gratitude. This was the same motivation for the Israelites whenever they thought of their struggles by remembering their deliverance from the Egyptians and the Babylonians. The psalmist remembered this event with joy and gratitude, “When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs. The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for them!’ What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.”
We too must look to the past, the 200 years of history and marvel at how the Lord had helped the Church in Singapore to grow and also our contributions to the development of the country in forming leaders with integrity and strong moral values. We are grateful for the missionaries who planted the seeds of faith. When we think of the sacrifices they made for us, leaving their home and country and loved ones, we cannot but be grateful for all that they had done for us. Without the foreign missionaries bringing with them not just the faith but education, medicine and providing us the resources to buy land and building the churches, the Church would not be what it is today. We have grown much over these last 200 years.
But we must also look to the future as well. Glorifying our past, whilst necessary to ignite gratitude in our hearts, will not change lives unless we dream of the future as well. This was how the prophet inspired the Israelites in exile. In a situation of despair and despondency, the prophet Baruch stirred up the hopes of Israel once again. He dared to dream of the future ahead of them. God, he said, would “put the diadem of the glory of the Eternal on your head: since God means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven.” God will bring them back like “royal princes carried back in glory. For God has decreed that Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God. God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory with his mercy and integrity for escort.” Such was the glorious dream that Baruch had for his people. This, too, is our dream as well.
Gratitude for the past and hope for the future is what will drive us in the present to work for the dream. Indeed, St Paul expressed confidence in the future by urging the Christians to grow in their faith, trusting in God. “I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes. My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognise what is best.” The Christians must continue to make progress in their knowledge of our Lord and grow in love for each other as well. Doctrine and life must go together.
We are called to be the glory of God here and now. The prophet said to the people, “Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress, put on the beauty of the glory of God for ever, wrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you.” Similarly, St Paul said to the Christians, “This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.” Indeed, our dream is to be God’s glory and splendour so that His light, life and love shine in us. This can come about only when we live lives of integrity and devotion to God and our fellowmen. The prophet Baruch said, “the name God gives you forever will be, Peace through integrity, and honour through devotedness.” There can be no peace in this life unless we live a life of integrity, follow our conscience and be faithful to our beliefs. There can be no other glory that can last except through selfless and faithful devotion in service of God and our fellowmen just as our early missionaries had shown us.
For the glory of God to shine through us, we need to straighten our lives. This is what John the Baptist is asking of us just like the prophet Baruch. “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, winding ways will be straightened and rough roads made smooth. And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.” We need to put our lives in order. What are the mountains that we need to level? Is it our pride, arrogance, self-sufficiency, and self-reliance that hinder us from recognizing the goodness of God in our lives and the love of our fellowmen? What are the valleys that keep us from being receptive to God’s love and our fellowmen? Perhaps, our ability to see goodness in this life is clouded by our negativities, our failures, our disappointments, our hurts and wounds that were inflicted on us in life or in ministry. So we are looking at the world and God with vindictive hearts. What are those winding ways and rough roads that need to be straightened and made smooth? Even though many of us are good Catholics, yet we all know that we are far from perfect. We have our weaknesses, our attachments, our weakness to the sin of gluttony, lust and greed. Some live an ambiguous life, trying to appear and live as good Catholics but yet cannot let go for our sins completely.
So what must we do? We must go to the desert. It is the place where we hear the Word of God. This explains why John the Baptist was in the wilderness. It was there that the Word of God came to him. John the Baptist, citing the Prophet Isaiah said, “A voice cries in the wilderness.” What would a prophet be speaking to in the wilderness when no one was there? This wilderness refers to the emptiness of our hearts and the loss of meaning and purpose in life. It is a life lived in a vacuum. Hence, to re-ignite ourselves, we must go back to the wilderness so that the Word of God can come to us. Only through the word of God can we come to know ourselves and be able to find consolation, inspiration and direction. John the Baptist, after receiving the Word of God, “went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Indeed, unless we have heard the Word of God for ourselves, unless we have encountered Him, we will have no enthusiasm for God and His people. Unless we are touched by His love, and have fallen in love with Him, we will treat Catholicism as a religion of doctrines and practices. This explains why Catholics who have been touched by God enjoy worshipping Him, talking and sharing about Him, reading and contemplating on His Word. Nominal Catholics attending an hour-long Mass say it is too long, but they can attend concerts that last for 3 hours! Ultimately, it is a question of whether we have been re-ignited or not. Those who are, will shine! So re-ignite and shine!
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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