20221222 GRATITUDE THE CAUSE OF THE JOY OF SHARING
22 December, 2022, Thursday, 4th Week of Advent
First reading |
1 Samuel 1:24-28 © |
This is the child I prayed for: he is made over to the Lord.
When Hannah had weaned the infant Samuel, she took him up with her together with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the temple of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was with them. They slaughtered the bull and the child’s mother came to Eli. She said, ‘If you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. This is the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.’
There she left him, for the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm |
1 Samuel 2:1,4-8 © |
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
My heart exults in the Lord.
I find my strength in my God;
my mouth laughs at my enemies
as I rejoice in your saving help.
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the weak are clothed with strength.
Those with plenty must labour for bread,
but the hungry need work no more.
The childless wife has children now
but the fruitful wife bears no more.
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
It is the Lord who gives life and death,
he brings men to the grave and back;
it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches.
He brings men low and raises them on high.
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
He lifts up the lowly from the dust,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes
to give him a glorious throne.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
on them he has set the world.
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Root of Jesse,
set up as a sign to the peoples,
come to save us
and delay no more.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
King of the peoples
and cornerstone of the Church,
come and save man,
whom you made from the dust of the earth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:46-56 © |
The Almighty has done great things for me
Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
GRATITUDE THE CAUSE OF THE JOY OF SHARING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SAMUEL 1:24-28; LUKE 1:46-56]
In today’s scripture readings, we have two women who were filled with great joy at the Lord’s favour showered on them. Hannah was barren and could not conceive a child. But her fervent prayers to the Lord was heard and she gave birth to Samuel. So great was her joy and gratitude to the Lord for taking away her shame that she was grateful forever to the Lord. In her gratitude, she returned back to the Temple to offer her son for the service of the Lord. And what amazes us Is that she took him to the Temple and delivered her son to Eli saying, “If you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. This is the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.” And the author said, “There she left him, for the Lord.”
There is no greater expression of gratitude than what Hannah did. The son is the most precious gift that no mother would ever want to give away, not even for all the wealth and power the world can give. The mother’s love for a child is almost inseparable. In the book of Isaiah, God used this analogy to describe His love for His people. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (Isa 49:15) Indeed, which mother can do what Hannah did in giving away her son and more than that, at a tender age of three years old. What generosity, what great gratitude she had towards God. Even for many parents, they cannot let go of their grown-up sons and daughters when they wish to join the priesthood or consecrated life.
This too was the case of Mary in today’s gospel when she sang the Magnificat, a hymn praise. The hymn illustrates Mary’s humility and thanksgiving for God’s mercy in her life. Of course, Mary’s Magnificat is crafted by the evangelist taking from Hannah’s hymn of praise which we said in the responsorial psalm. St Luke puts the sentiments of Hannah into the mouth of our Blessed Mother. Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour; because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid. Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me.”
Mary too was filled with gratitude at God’s mercy in choosing her to be the mother of the Saviour. For Mary, it was an even greater miracle, not only because her Son was the Messiah, the Son of God, but also because the birth took place without the intervention of man but solely by God’s supernatural power. She was amazed at how the Lord worked in her life, a woman of the anawim, that is among the lowly remnant of Israel, and how the Lord made it possible for Joseph to accept this divine intervention. She knew that without God’s grace, nothing was impossible. So we can imagine the joy in Mary’s heart when Elizabeth recognized her as the Mother of her Lord under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Yet, just like Hannah, Mary was conscious that God’s gift and mercy to her was not her own. Both knew that having a child is a gift from God, not her right, unlike what many women think today. When they want to have a child, they would go against God’s plan and nature to conceive a child by all means, outside the womb in the laboratory, and in the process kill so many embryos which in truth are undeveloped unborn babies. Hannah took her child as a gift from God. Mary saw the conception of our Lord as a mission given to her. She was receiving our Lord in her womb on behalf of the people of God. For the angel told her, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk 1:32f)
Secondly, because the child belonged to God, they returned the child to God. Hannah knew that Samuel was given to her on loan. She did not possess the child as if he belonged to her. She had a duty to offer him to the Lord after weaning him for whatever the Lord assigned him to do. She knew that God had a plan for her child just like everyone else. Mary too. After the birth of our Lord, she went to the Temple and consecrated her first-born child to the Lord. We read that “when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what was stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” (Lk 2:22-24)
Indeed, both Hannah and Mary were very conscious that the child they had was for the people of God. In Hannah’s hymn of praise, she echoed the faith of Israel, “My heart exults in the Lord. I find my strength in my God; my mouth laughs at my enemies as I rejoice in your saving help. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the weak are clothed with strength. Those with plenty must labour for bread, but the hungry need work no more. The childless wife has children now but the fruitful wife bears no more. It is the Lord who gives life and death, he brings men to the grave and back; it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches. He brings men low and raises them on high. He lifts up the lowly from the dust, from the dungheap he raises the poor to set him in the company of princes to give him a glorious throne.”
Mary, too, in her Magnificat echoed the same sentiments of Hannah. God is faithful to His promises, not just to her but to all who are lowly, poor and hungry, especially the anawim of Israel. “The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away. He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy – according to the promise he made to our ancestors – of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.” This God who had been faithful to His promise to Mary would do the same for Israel. However, God comes only to those who are lowly of heart, not the arrogant and the proud. Those who are proud would be put down because their pride and ego would ultimately destroy them when they think they have all the answers in the world and everyone should bow before them. However, Mary said, “Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.” Only those who revered the Lord and obey His commandments and trust in Him will be successful and blessed in life.
Finally, both had confidence that God would look after them since He gave the child to them. For Hannah, putting her child in the Temple to serve the Lord would be the best and safest place for her son to be in so that he would grow to become a true servant of the Lord. For Mary, allowing her Son to serve His Father by dying for His people would be the greatest gift she could offer in thanksgiving to God. In the temple, she accepted the prophecy of Simeon in silence and contemplation. “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Indeed, the time would come when Jesus had to leave home for His ministry, and hung on the cross for the salvation of humanity, and Mary’s heart like that of our Lord would be pierced at His passion.
Today as we approach nearer the feast of the gift of God in His Son Jesus to us at Christmas, let us be inspired in faith and in thanksgiving like Mary and Hannah for the great gift God has given to us. God had blessed us with many gifts in life, with marriage, with children, with a good career or meaningful vocation, health, money, good friends, and most of all, faith in Him. Let us not take these blessings from God lightly but ask ourselves how we can also turn in the gifts that He has given to us. We can share what we have with those who have not. We can share our faith with those who are despondent and hopeless. We can rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We can help our children and our friends to find their vocation in life so that they can serve God and their fellowmen with passion and joy. Let us live our life always in thanksgiving and gratitude.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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