20211204 WHEN THE DISCIPLE IS READY
First reading |
Isaiah 30:19-21,23-26 © |
The Lord God will be gracious to you and hear your cry
Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Whether you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is the way, follow it.’ He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. Your cattle will graze, that day, in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat a salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain, on every high hill there will be streams and watercourses, on the day of the great slaughter when the strongholds fall. Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter – like the light of seven days in one – on the day the Lord dresses the wound of his people and heals the bruises his blows have left.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 146(147):1-6 © |
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Praise the Lord for he is good;
sing to our God for he is loving:
to him our praise is due.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem
and brings back Israel’s exiles.
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
He heals the broken-hearted,
he binds up all their wounds.
He fixes the number of the stars;
he calls each one by its name.
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Our Lord is great and almighty;
his wisdom can never be measured.
The Lord raises the lowly;
he humbles the wicked to the dust.
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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: | Is33:22 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is our judge, the Lord our lawgiver,
the Lord our king and saviour.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 9:35-10:1,5,6-8 © |
The harvest is rich but the labourers are few
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’
He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’
WHEN THE DISCIPLE IS READY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 30:19-21,23-26; PS 147:1-6; MT 9:35-10:1,5,6-8]
Advent is a season of waiting in hope. Christmas is coming. But many of us are still suffering because the Covid-19 pandemic is adding to the many woes in our lives. We are affected physically, financially, emotionally, psychologically, and even spiritually. Every aspect of our life is feeling the strain. And the worst is, it does not seem that this pandemic is going away soon. In spite of vaccination, cases are rising, affecting our economy, work life, relationship with God and our fellowmen.
If we think we are in a very difficult situation, the people of Judah were going through much more difficult times. The Assyrian Army had destroyed many of the towns in Judah. Jerusalem was left alone, almost isolated. They had suffered much under the constant threats and harassment of the Assyrians and the country was near collapse. And this was because both Israel and Judah were not faithful to God, neither their leaders nor the people. There was corruption, injustices, greed and failure to observe the laws of Moses. So what did the Lord do? He left them to face the consequences of their sins. The prophet said, “Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes.”
The truth is that we do not really learn our lesson until we pay a price for it. The costlier the price, the greater the lesson learnt. Indeed, we are like little children who did not do their homework and in desperation turned to their friends and parents to help them. But very soon they forget and never learnt to be more conscientious and diligent in their studies. This is equally true for us adults as well. We cheat and commit crimes which land us in prison. Often, through the suffering in prison, we come to our senses. So, too, for those who are greedy. They gamble in stocks and shares, in casinos until they go bankrupt or even end up borrowing, cheating and committing breach of trust. Then there are those who are very successful in life, whether in their career or business. They think so highly of themselves until their business collapses, or their health fail, or they are out of job. This is what Mary warned us in the Magnificat, “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” (Lk 1:51-53)
Indeed, we must not think that the Lord has abandoned us when we are going through hard times. At such times, the Lord is patiently waiting for us, more so than we await Him! He is waiting for us to turn back to Him. The truth is that we do not return to Him sincerely unless we are desperate and can no longer rely on our strength. “Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” (Hos 14:3) In other words, the teacher will appear when we are ready to welcome Him. Otherwise, God, who is our hidden teacher, will make us realize that we are not so great after all through our suffering. The day we come to realize our nothingness before Him, we will come back to Him with all our heart.
Only then will we begin to search for Him. And He will appear and come to lead us. Once again, we will recognize that the Lord is our teacher. We need more than just food and rich harvest from our crops, we also need direction in life, to be formed in our conscience. “Whether you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is the way, follow it.’ He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. Your cattle will graze, that day, in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat a salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork.” Indeed, the cause of so much suffering in the world, whether it is the fragmentation of marriage and family life, the manipulation and cheating in business, the unfair competition in the world of trade, civil and international wars, is because man has forgotten about God and what true worship of God entails, namely, living a life of integrity, honesty, charity and compassion.
In the gospel, Jesus comes to show us the way. He is the Good Shepherd. “Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.” Jesus sought to proclaim the Father’s love and mercy through His works of compassion and healing. Through His teaching on the Father’s love and mercy both in His words and deeds, Jesus brought healing and reconciliation to humanity. He gave the people hope for liberation and peace. This is because the Lord feels with us. Truly, “when he saw the crowd he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus as the Good Shepherd was motivated to give Himself entirely to the people because they were in distress. He was moved to compassion for them.
This is why we must also place our hope in Him. Even in this difficult time, we must turn to our Lord to lead us and to guide us out of this period of purification. We can be sure that the Lord has a message for us through the pandemic and the effects of climate change, seen in flooding, typhoons, drought and forest fires and depletion of wild life and marine life. Unfortunately, humanity is not paying attention to the importance of ecology, not just for the climate but for life itself. When humanity is no longer respected, when marriage and family life is destroyed, when conscience is dead, when God is no longer our reference point, when we only look to ourselves for solutions, even with all the advancements in science and technology, we will eventually be under the control of robots.
This is why we cannot sit back and do nothing. Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” Indeed, for those of us who are better off, blessed with greater opportunities, resources and means, we should join the Lord of the harvest to work for the greater good of our fellowmen. We have been empowered to do what Jesus did. Jesus gave His apostles “authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of disease and sickness.” We need to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to open the hearts of our people to respond more generously to the call of the Church to reach out to those who are seeking for meaning and purpose in life. This is what the Lord said to His Twelve apostles, “Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.”
We must begin the work of renewal among our own peoples first. This is what Pope Francis is doing in calling for a Synodal Process. This is truly a courageous move because it can be a double-edged sword if not managed properly as we lift the lid off a can of worms. Yet, we must be courageous to face the challenges bravely and non-defensively. This is the work of the Holy Spirit because the Church needs to find the right pastoral approaches in responding to the confusion among our peoples in the face of scandals, confusion brought about by the changing values, lifestyles, a secular and relativistic, individualistic, materialistic and consumeristic world. Hence, this process begins with the need to hear and feel with the struggles of the People of God. We need a compassionate heart so that we can appreciate the pain, loneliness, struggles and challenges of our people who are seeking to live the gospel life authentically. Hopefully, this sharing of pain, frustrations and aspirations will help the Church leaders to rethink how to move the Church forward. The Synodal Process gives hope to the Church to reshape herself to meet the challenges of modern times more creatively, compassionately, so that we can remain true to the gospel and yet pastorally effective.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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