20221218 OBEDIENCE TO THE PLANS OF GOD
18 December, 2022, Sunday, 4th Week of Advent
First reading | Isaiah 7:10-14 © |
The maiden is with child
The Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’
Then Isaiah said:
‘Listen now, House of David:
are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men
without trying the patience of my God, too?
The Lord himself, therefore,
will give you a sign.
It is this: the maiden is with child
and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 23(24):1-6 © |
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of glory.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of glory.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things.
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of glory.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Let the Lord enter! He is the king of glory.
Second reading | Romans 1:1-7 © |
Our apostolic mission is to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan nations
From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets in the scriptures.
This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan nations in honour of his name. You are one of these nations, and by his call belong to Jesus Christ. To you all, then, who are God’s beloved in Rome, called to be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and peace.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt1:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 1:18-24 © |
How Jesus Christ came to be born
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.
OBEDIENCE TO THE PLANS OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 7:10-14; ROMANS 1:1-7; MATTHEW 1:18-24]
As we enter the last week of Advent, we read of the divine plan unfolded to Joseph. It is necessary for the Church to prepare for His birth by connecting the birth of our Lord with that of Joseph. This is because Joseph had an important role, other than Mary, with respect to the incarnation. Unless Joseph cooperated with this plan, the history of salvation would be impacted. Thus, besides revealing to Mary the divine plan of God for our salvation, God also brought Joseph into the picture so that he too could be aligned with the plan of God. Indeed, those of us who run organizations understand how important it is to have all our departments and units and members aligned in the mission of the organization.
What then was this plan? God wanted our Lord to be born of the virgin so that Jesus the Son of God could be truly man. Without being born of a woman, one cannot say that Jesus was truly a man. However, Jesus could also not be conceived in the same way as all men as that would put Jesus in the same situation as us, namely, to be tainted with original sin. In order that Jesus remained sinless, the appropriate sign was that He was conceived not by man but supernaturally through the power of the Holy Spirit that overshadowed Mary. At the same time, Joseph was also important as a player in this whole drama of salvation because Mary who belonged probably to the Tribe of Levi did not come from the House of David. Joseph who came from the tribe of Judah was a descendent of David. This makes Jesus truly the Messiah and the Saviour promised by the prophets. Joseph as the legal father then would be the foster father.
In this way, Jesus could be truly said to be the Messiah who is truly God and truly man, as declared by St Paul in the second reading. “This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead.” Being truly God, Jesus can save us from our sins and deliver us from the bondage of the Evil One. Being truly man, He is truly our mediator, our High Priest who reconciles us with God and intercedes for us.
Whilst it was certainly a relief to Joseph who was certainly perturbed at the pregnancy of Mary, it did not mean it was easy for Joseph to accept the plan of God. It meant that all his plans with Mary were upset. We can be sure that Joseph and Mary would have had their plans of a married life. But with this revelation from God, they had to give up whatever they had planned. Indeed, if we place ourselves in their situation, it would surely have been difficult for anyone of us to have our plans thwarted in order to give in to God’s plan. Suppose your fiancée or fiancé one day comes to tell you that God is calling her or him to the priesthood or religious life. Surely, one will get very upset especially when you have been courting for years and perhaps even bought a house to settle down, besides the other plans that have been made. How would you cope with such a decision? Indeed, it is very difficult and painful for those of us who have to change our plans to align and embrace the plans of God in our lives. It is very unsettling and frightening because we want security and stability.
But we read that “when Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.” Joseph was very obedient to the Lord. He accepted the will of God and the role he was called to play in the plan of salvation.
This too was the case of St Paul as well. We knew that St Paul was a great rabbi and a great scholar, a Pharisee zealous for the Jewish faith. But upon seeing the Lord at Damascus, God changed his whole life and all his plans. He too “has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets in the scriptures.” When the Lord called him to abandon his own plans, he could no longer say “no.” But in obedience, he gave himself completely to the Lord as His apostle to the Gentiles.
In contrast, we have Ahaz who chose to follow his own plan. He did not trust God but only himself. When his state was threatened by the combined forces of the King of Aram and the King of Israel, instead of remaining firm, he sought Assyria as his ally to fend of his enemies. This was against the advice of the prophet Isaiah because by bringing in the Assyrians, they would ultimately swallow up the kingdom as well. But he did not want to listen to the prophet Isaiah even though he was given assurance that God would protect him. He was adamant in following his will and his plans that he rejected the sign that God gave him to confirm the prophecy of Isaiah.
What about us? Are we willing to follow the plan of God? Are we obedient to His will? How can we submit in obedience to the plan of God? This requires faith. This is what St Paul tells us. “Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan nations in honour of his name.”
What is this obedience of faith? Simply it means that when God reveals, we obey because we believe. When we believe it is not because we understand but simply because the one who said it is God Himself. If we obey the Word of God, and believe in the Bible, it is because we believe that God is the author of the scriptures. If we believe in the Pope and the apostolic college of bishops, it is because Jesus promised to be with His church and protect her from all errors. So we render obedience because we trust in God even when we do not understand. Indeed, obedience to what the Lord tells us is itself an act of faith and trust in Him.
Obedience requires faith in God. Without faith, obedience becomes slavery and will not set us free. We obey freely not by coercion. So those without faith in Christ, understandably cannot accept the Word of God or the teachings of the Bible. If they use human logic alone, they will not always agree with the Church’s teachings on creation and morality. If people cannot obey it is because they doubt Christ and His Word taught by the Church. To have faith is more than just trust. It means carrying out what the Lord tells us to do. Obedience in faith means to submit our intellect, will, emotions and our being to do what the Lord asks of us even when it is difficult, illogical and incomprehensive.
Indeed, the world and even many so-called Catholics behave like King Ahaz. They claim to have faith in God and in Christ but whatever they do contradict that faith. Often, many of our Church decisions are based on human analysis and there is a lack of prayerful discernment of what the Holy Spirit wants us to do. Most of our decisions are based on logic and human reasoning, which is not wrong in itself but it is insufficient. Do we believe that God can do more than what we can do? Do we truly believe in the power of God at work in our lives, or do we think that God’s work is dependent only on our ingenuity and efforts. If we have faith in God, then like St Joseph, St Paul and Mary, we will also believe in the possible. All of them acted in faith expressed in their obedience to God’s will. If the Holy Spirit could conceive Jesus in the womb of the virgin, cannot He also work the impossible in our lives?
So today, we are called to be courageous like Joseph and Paul and Mary to say “yes” in the face of the impossible. This was what the angel told Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Lk 1:37) Elizabeth reiterated the importance of faith when she remarked, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” (Lk 1:45) Like them, we must be willing to give up our plans for the plans of God. When we cooperate with His plan, He will bring to fulfilment what He promised us.
There are consequences for those who fail to obey in faith. Like Ahaz, we destroy ourselves. Lacking faith in God is the cause of our downfall because we want to rely on ourselves. How often by choosing to go our way, we lose our happiness. When we go against the will of God, we will hurt ourselves. If the Lord has not called us to priestly and religious life, by forcing ourselves in, we will not be happy. It is the same too for those who force themselves into a marriage simply because they are insecure and anxious about their future when it is not the will of God!
But if we follow the plans of God, we will find happiness and peace in our hearts. Each one of us is called to bring Jesus to the world according to God’s plan for us. We must discern our vocation and not choose our own will. So what better way to welcome the Lord at Christmas than to cooperate with His plans? This calls for quiet contemplation in prayer. Indeed, with the psalmist, we pray, “Let the Lord enter! He is the king of glory. Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things. He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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