20221219 A BARREN LIFE
19 December, 2022, Monday, 4th Week of Advent
First reading |
Judges 13:2-7,24-25 © |
'You will conceive and bear a son'
There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren, she had borne no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to this woman and said to her, ‘You are barren and have had no child. But from now on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy shall be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb. It is he who will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines.’ Then the woman went and told her husband, ‘A man of God has just come to me; his presence was like the presence of the angel of God, he was so majestic. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not reveal his name to me. But he said to me, “You will conceive and bear a son. From now on, take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be God’s nazirite from his mother’s womb to his dying day.”’
The woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and the Lord blessed him; and the spirit of the Lord began to move him.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 70(71):3-6,16-17 © |
My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.
Be a rock where I can take refuge,
a mighty stronghold to save me;
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
Free me from the hand of the wicked.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.
It is you, O Lord, who are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth,
from my mother’s womb you have been my help.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.
I will declare the Lord’s mighty deeds
proclaiming your justice, yours alone.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders still.
My lips are filled with your praise, with your glory all the day long.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Root of Jesse, set up as a sign to the peoples,
come to save us,
and delay no more.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:5-25 © |
'Your wife Elizabeth will bear a son'
In the days of King Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron. Both were worthy in the sight of God, and scrupulously observed all the commandments and observances of the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both getting on in years.
Now it was the turn of Zechariah’s section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly office before God when it fell to him by lot, as the ritual custom was, to enter the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of incense the whole congregation was outside, praying.
Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John. He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink. Even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.’
Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel who stand in God’s presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. Listen! Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has happened.’ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he stayed in the sanctuary so long. When he came out he could not speak to them, and they realised that he had received a vision in the sanctuary. But he could only make signs to them, and remained dumb.
When his time of service came to an end he returned home. Some time later his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept to herself. ‘The Lord has done this for me’ she said ‘now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered among men.’
A BARREN LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JUDGES 13:2-7,24-25; LUKE 1:5-25]
Some of us find life a chore because it is meaningless. We work hard day and night, make some money for our livelihood, enjoy occasional moments of pleasure. This is true even for those who are wealthy. What is life with all the money when one cannot spend all of it, and we get tired of living a lavish life and eating sumptuous food all the time. Indeed, life, to be meaningful and worth living, requires us to live for someone or for something greater than ourselves. We need to give life to others in order to find life.
This explains why women in the ancient days lived only for their husbands and their children. That was what gave them meaning and purpose in life as women then were not educated and had no place in public life. They were mostly homemakers. Their greatest joy was to see their children grow up well, have a good job, earn sufficient money, get married and have children. Besides their children, they looked after the husband’s well-being because the man was supposed to provide food for the table and a roof over their heads. Hence, if a woman was a widow and worse still, without any children, that woman was considered barren as she had no life, no purpose to live on. So we can appreciate why women who are not career women or involved in public service, felt lost, disheartened and empty without children. It was considered a great shame and even a curse not to be able to bear children. This explains why when Elizabeth conceived, she said, “The Lord has done this for me now that it has pleased him to take away the humiliation I suffered among men.”
In today’s scripture readings, we have two women who were barren. The first was the wife of Manoah. “His wife was barren, she had borne no children.” In the gospel, Elizabeth was not just barren but she and her husband, Zechariah who was well advanced in age. Both women suffered the shame of being barren and anxiety over their future especially when their husbands die before them. Who would provide for their security and needs? Who would look after them in their old age?
But we too might be living a barren life as well, even though we might have children. We feel stuck in our life and where we are. Things do not seem to be moving. We are doing the same routine day in and day out. There is no excitement, no challenges. Sometimes, we feel this way about our work as well. We have been doing the same job for many years so much so we have lost our zeal, passion and creativity. Some of us are in charge of an organization. We have tried to make changes but are faced with so many oppositions, we give up and decided to allow the organization to remain status quo. Even those of us who are retired. Initially, we are thrilled that we do not have any more responsibilities, only to find ourselves useless, powerless and put aside by our loved ones and the world. We are no longer important and no one even notice us or our absence. All the glory and attention we used to get are removed almost within a few months. We feel insecure and lonely.
What should we do when we feel we are living a barren life? We must pray for God’s intervention in our life. This was what Zechariah and his wife did. “The angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John.” Indeed, God knows the longing of our hearts, our deepest desires and needs. Jesus Himself said, “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Mt 6:7f) So like them, in our barrenness, we must pray quietly to the Lord, praying earnestly for Him to intervene, for the Lord also said, “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Mt 7:7f)
Secondly, we must pray in faith. In the first reading, we read of the faith of Manoah and his wife. When the angel appeared to the woman and said to her, “You are barren and have had no child. But from now on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy shall be God’s Nazirite from his mother’s womb. It is he who will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines”, she went and told her husband. She and Manoah did not doubt the divine intervention in their life. Indeed, she “gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and the Lord blessed him; and the spirit of the Lord began to move him in the Camp of Dan.”
In contrast, although Zechariah was a righteous man, obedient to the Laws, he lacked faith in God’s intervention in his life. When the angel appeared to him, he was disturbed and was overcome with fear. But the angel assured him, “Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John. He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink.” But what was his response, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years.” He wanted proof and guarantee. He did not accept it in faith that nothing is impossible for God. Later on, we see the great contrast in Mary’s response to the call to be the mother of the Saviour. Her question was not “Can this be possible? Prove to me!” But it was a question of how it would take place. Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.” (Lk 1:34f)
If we lack faith, or if our faith is not strong enough, then whilst waiting patiently for God to intervene, we need to listen more intently in silence to the Word of God. It is significant that because Zechariah refused to believe in the Word of God given to him by the angel, he lost his speech. The voice is useless if there are no meaningful words to say. A voice is only an instrument for the Word to be made known and give life and meaning to people. Since he did not accept God’s word, his voice was silenced until John the Baptist was born. He was the forerunner of the Lord, the voice crying out in the wilderness, proclaiming the Word of God. Hence, it was right that Zechariah regained back his voice only when John the Baptist was born as he was led in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Advent, therefore, is a time of patient waiting in prayer, in contemplation and in faith. We must seek the Word of God and listen to the angels that He sends to us, inviting us to be receptive to the opportunities that life offers us. Sometimes, it is not because life has no meaning and purpose, but it is because we cannot see the meaning of what we are doing. Only God can enlighten us and give us the Word to understand the meaning and purpose in life. Even in sickness and old age, God has a purpose for us. We can continue to inspire and guide people in our old age when we grow old gracefully. Those of us who are sick can offer our sufferings for our own conversion and that of the world. Those of us who have no children can adopt God’s people as their children, especially those who are neglected and unloved. Those who are retired can continue to offer themselves, their knowledge and expertise to serve the community. Indeed, life has meaning when we give ourselves to God and to others, just as John the Baptist did. The angel said, “he will bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.” We too must be like John the Baptist, living a dynamic life, seeking to help people to live more meaningfully and selflessly by bringing God to them. In this way, our lives will never be barren but always fruitful regardless of our situation.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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