20221209 DANCING THE DANCE OF THE LORD
09 December, 2022, Friday, 2nd Week of Advent
First reading | Isaiah 48:17-19 © |
If you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you,
I lead you in the way that you must go.
If only you had been alert to my commandments,
your happiness would have been like a river,
your integrity like the waves of the sea.
Your children would have been numbered like the sand,
your descendants as many as its grains.
Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 1:1-4,6 © |
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
See, the king, the Lord of the world, will come.
He will free us from the yoke of our bondage.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord will come, go out to meet him.
Great is his beginning and his reign will have no end.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 11:16-19 © |
They heed neither John nor the Son of Man
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:
“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t be mourners.”
‘For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’
DANCING THE DANCE OF THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 48:17-19; MATTHEW 11:16-19]
The Lord is coming soon. We must therefore dance for joy. This is the constant message of hope during the season of Advent. How can we do this except by entering into the dance of the Lord? To dance with the Lord requires that we be in sync with Him. This is what the Lord lamented of the Jewish leaders and the Jews, “What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place: ‘We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t be mourners.’ For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He is possessed.’ The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.”
Indeed, His contemporaries did not welcome Jesus or accept Him. They did not listen to His teachings. Instead of facing the truth about themselves, they found excuses for rejecting Jesus, just as they rejected John the Baptist when he preached the message of repentance. Not just John the Baptist, but the prophets before them as well. They were even killed! John the Baptist was ridiculed as an ascetic and maybe possessed because of his message of repentance and God’s punishment. With Jesus they thought He was mad too. They could not accept His association with the tax collectors and sinners on one hand, and the unconditional mercy and forgiveness of God on another. Whichever way, they were not ready to dance with the Lord. They wanted to do things their way and sought happiness and freedom according to their likes and fancies.
But it is clear in today’s first reading that if we want to find happiness in life, all we need to do is to learn the dance of the Lord and keep dancing according to its tune. The rhythm of this dance is provided in the commandments of the Lord. God said, “I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you, I lead you in the way that you must go. If only you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river, your integrity like the waves of the sea. Your children would have been numbered like the sand, your descendants as many as its grains. Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.” If we follow the ways of the Lord, which is His wisdom, we will find happiness. If we are alert to what the Lord wants of us, then we will live a life of true happiness, one of joy, peace and a clear conscience. Most of all, we will also have happy marriages, beautiful children and blessed families.
The cause of unhappiness and misery is always the consequence of not following the commandments of the Lord, the path that He has shown us. By going against the wisdom of the Lord and following the wisdom, or rather the folly of the world, we deceive ourselves, delude ourselves into what is true happiness. Above all, we destroy our inner peace because we lack integrity of life; our families because we do not know how to love them as we should, our marriages because of the lack of fidelity and self-giving love. This is what the psalmist says as well. “Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night. He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper. Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff shall be driven away by the wind, for the Lord guards the way of the just but the way of the wicked leads to doom.” If we do not drink from the well of wisdom, that is, from the river of life, the Word of truth, then we will not bear fruits in our lives and our work. Like the wicked, dishonest and selfish people in the world, we bring about our destruction.
So if we truly seek happiness in life and true joy, then the responsorial psalm says, “Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.” We must choose to dance with the Lord according to the dance He has shown us by first and foremost welcoming Jesus, the Word of God into our hearts. During this season of Advent, we must prepare ourselves by learning the steps of this dance by praying over the Word of God. Unless the Word of God is born in our hearts and takes flesh in our lives, words and actions, we cannot be said to know the dance. But if Jesus’ words are imbibed by us, we will act accordingly because He makes His home with us in the Spirit. “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.” (Jn 14:23f)
Secondly, we need to put into action what we believe; not like a robot, unbending to the rules or being wishy washy. In other words, the Word of God only provides us the principles and the essentials of Christian living. The practical application must be applied accordingly, sensibly and with compassion and understanding. We must be careful not to fall into legalism where life is like an automaton, simply observing the rules and laws regardless of the situation. The Spirit of the Law cannot be changed but situations change and we need to keep the truth which cannot change. But sometimes, to retain the truth and the spirit of the Law, we need to adapt accordingly. We are not fundamentalists in reading the bible literally as if is it a reference book with ready answers for every occasion. The bible must be read within context and always in the spirit behind what is written.
Thirdly, living a life of wisdom is precisely, the ability to adapt the Laws rightly. Jesus never said that John the Baptist was wrong in calling to repentance so that the people could be saved and not incur the punishment of God. Jesus too had the same intention, which is to call the people to repentance. But He knew that threats alone cannot change lives and bring people to conversion through fear and punishment. The consequences of sin remain unchanged if evil and selfish people do not repent. But the way of Jesus was to make friends with tax collectors, be with them, celebrating with them, sharing His love with them and finding ways to win them over so that they could through His love, mercy, compassion and non-judgmental attitude be receptive to His message. Often the truth is never the problem; it has to do with the packaging. This is why in today’s world, the use of mass media is necessary because we need to engage our young people through interactive engagement rather than through lectures and instructions.
Truly, the words of Jesus and His actions proved Him right. By His unconditional love and mercy, He brought sinners back to God. They repented not out of fear but in response to God’s mercy and love. His passion and death, perceived as a failure of His mission, was God’s way to bring sinners to repentance and conversion, particularly when they encountered Him risen from the dead.
So let us also live a life of integrity by dancing with the Lord, reaching out to people according to the situation and circumstances. That was how Jesus lived. A man of integrity and authentically human and hence truly divine! With those who were sick, Jesus healed them; with those who were hungry, He felt for them and fed them; with those who were in bereavement like the case of the widow of Naim, the sisters of Lazarus, He wept with them; when He was tired, He slept in the boat; when the disciples were tired after a long ministry, He called them to rest; with the self-righteous Pharisees and the Scribes, Jesus did not mince His words; with repentant sinners, Jesus did not condemn.
We too must find ways to befriend sinners, atheists and those hostile to the Church. We cannot expect people to come to Church to seek reconciliation. Our task is to reach out to the un-reached and the marginalized that are not in the Church. That is why, Pope Francis asks us to go out to the market place and the battlefield to meet them. Waiting for sinners to return to Church is not the best way to bring them home. So if we live our lives with wisdom, by being authentic people, living a life of integrity and compassion, we will certainly experience the joy of Christ in our hearts and we will in turn bring joy to others and give them hope and salvation.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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