20231219 A BARREN OR A FRUITFUL LIFE
19 December 2023, Tuesday
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 OR A FRUITFUL LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JUDGES 13:2-7,24-25; LUKE 1:5-25]
Today we have two parallel stories of two barren women and two miraculous births. The first thing to note is that barrenness was considered a shame and a humiliation in the time of Jesus. This applied particularly to the women more so than the men. Why is that so? This causes me to reflect on our common call to be fruitful in life. The meaning of birthdays and everyone’s calling in life is to be fruitful. In those days, women were homemakers and therefore seen as mothers primarily, to look after children and to nurture them. Fathers were providers and protectors of the family. He was the material provider and leader in family and society.
Hence, a woman’s existence had no meaning apart from child-bearing and motherhood. Being barren thus meant they had no reason to live and hence a shame. Of course the father was not to be blamed since the mother was seen as the one carrying the baby. So, if the wife was barren than it was her fault. Women therefore suffered great humiliation when they were without children. It implied that they lived in vain. Biological barrenness was but a deeper sign of personal barrenness.
In our days, the role of women has changed much, yet the call to fruitfulness remains constant. Women today are also career women. They have equal responsibility in the world and their role goes beyond the care of the family and home. Still, the nurturing role of mothers remains deeply ingrained in women. This, I believe, is in the genes or if you would have it, God has written it into the woman’s biological and psychological makeup.
Otherwise why do we all want to have children? Are they a blessing or a chore or a nuisance? What do you get out of having children? In the past, they were needed for manpower and were seen as a financial investment. Today, they are often seen as a liability. At any rate, we do not need them to keep us financially viable as we have our savings and investments. So why do we have children? Maybe we are afraid of loneliness. But then we can find companionship in other ways. For this reason many do not want to get married nor have children because they are seen as a nuisance and a burden. Most of all, they take away your freedom and it means lots of sacrifices. Worse still, when they turn out to be ingrates.
The real reason for the rejection of marriage and motherhood and fatherhood is because of individualism and a loss of hope for the future. People live only for themselves and this is because they do not see a future beyond this life. They must therefore grab and enjoy as much of this world as possible, for they believe that tomorrow we will die and then vanish from this world. Hence, having children is no more a motivation in life. They are considered a liability, heartache and a burden, not just financially.
For this reason, the scripture readings bring us back to focus the purpose of having children and of life as a whole. Children are miraculous gifts from God. Every child is a miracle, not just those miraculous births alone. Every child is a gift which cannot be demanded but only accepted graciously. Hence the Church does not permit in-vitro fertilisation or test tube babies, or surrogate motherhood. At the same time, abortion too is not permitted. This is the mystical meaning of Zachariah being struck dumb in the face of God’s miraculous intervention, since he did not believe, unlike Manoah, his wife Elizabeth and of course Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Most importantly, the purpose of having children is made clear. We are called to be fruitful. It is significant that the miraculous births of both Samson and John the Baptist were not given to the barren women simply to take away their shame but because they would have an important role in the plan of God and the history of salvation. In other words, they too had a calling to serve the plan of God for humanity. Samson was to rescue the Israelites from the Philistines and John the Baptist was to prepare the people to welcome the Messiah by turning away from their sins.
Consequently, parents are to help their children find their real calling in life. Their task is not simply to mould them to be lawyers and professionals or businessman so that they have a place in society or make lots of money. The role of parents is to help them fulfil their vocation in life so that they can be fruitful. At the end of the day, it is not what they become but whether they will live a fruitful life and be contributive to society. Will you consider your son or daughter as successful if he or she were called to live a life and vocation like John the Baptist, to be a priest or religious, or a contemplative nun? Even if they were to be successful in worldly terms and are achievers in life, in their career or business, but if they live only for themselves, they are failures! As parents, you too would have failed even though you have provided them the means to become successful in the eyes of the world. The real successful person is he or she who makes a real difference in his or her family, church and society. Unless we imprint on our children that happiness is dependent on whether they are life-giving, they cannot be happy even if they do well in their career or business.
In the final analysis, regardless whether they are married or single, parents or priests, we have a role to play in the plan of God, which is to give life and love in whichever state of life we are in. This is our common calling to fruition by fulfilling our role in this world, which is to live for others. This is to share in the life of God. By so doing we find life meaningful and fulfilling because we live for others and not for ourselves.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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