20241204 PREPARING FOR THE SECOND ADVENT
First reading | Isaiah 25:6-10 |
The Lord will prepare a banquet for every nation
On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples
a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,
of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.
On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples,
and the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death for ever.
The Lord will wipe away
the tears from every cheek;
he will take away his people’s shame
everywhere on earth,
for the Lord has said so.
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in whom we hoped for salvation;
the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We exult and we rejoice
that he has saved us;
for the hand of the Lord
rests on this mountain.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 22(23) |
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
Gospel Acclamation | Is33:22 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is our judge, the Lord our lawgiver,
the Lord our king and our saviour.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Look, the Lord will come to save his people.
Blessed those who are ready to meet him.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 15:29-37 |
The crowds praised the God of Israel
Jesus reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and he went up into the hills. He sat there, and large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel.
But Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this deserted place to feed such a crowd?’ Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said ‘and a few small fish.’ Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and he gave thanks and broke them and handed them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets full.
04 December 2024, Wednesday, 1st Week in Advent
PREPARING FOR THE SECOND ADVENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Is 25:6-10; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 15:29-37]
As we enter the season of Advent, most of us have our eyes fixed on Christmas. This is understandable because we feel the Christmas spirit in the air. Shopping centres are all geared up for Christmas with decorations and sentimental carols being played. Offices and organisations are planning their Christmas or end-of-year celebrations. Some are using this festive occasion to do good, by reaching out to the poor and the vulnerable. Unfortunately, many are switching from traditional carols to secular Christmas music which focuses on fun, merry-making, and dancing, with no mention of Christ or the reason why Christmas is a season of giving. In fact, the usual greeting, “Merry Christmas and a happy New Year” has been replaced by “season’s greetings” or “compliments of the season.” This is an attempt of a very secularised world to cancel out Christ completely. When history is denied, the celebration of Christmas becomes emptied of its meaning and purpose.
For this reason, during the first two weeks of Advent, the Church focuses on the final goal of life, which is to find fulfilment in God. She prepares us for the second coming of Christ – the second Advent – which is the reason for us to celebrate the first Advent, that is, the first coming of Christ at Christmas. Accordingly, the Scripture readings foretell of a messianic banquet when the Lord comes. The prophet Isaiah said, “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wine, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines. On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his peoples shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so.” The mountain refers historically to the earthly Jerusalem, which is but a foreshadowing of the heavenly Jerusalem.
The ultimate hope of every human person is not just temporary peace, or a passing joy on earth. For those who celebrate Christmas merely as a social festival, their joy and happiness will last only as long as there is merry-making. But at the end of the celebration, we will experience emptiness when we are once again alone, when we have to continue carrying the crosses of life, when our friends and relatives no longer have time to visit us, and when we face hunger, abandonment, and loneliness. This is not the case for those who celebrate Christmas with the anticipation of a lasting celebration in heaven. When we arrive at the heavenly Jerusalem, there will be communion and sharing, not just of food, but of love and life. It will not be about the transient enjoyments and pleasures of life. Rather, we will celebrate the giving and sharing of love and life.
Most of all, death will be overcome forever, which man fears most, and is the cause of human selfishness and sin. With death overcome and suffering vanquished, there is no more reason for self-centeredness and killing of our brothers and sisters as is happening in the world today. There is nothing else for us to fear when death is destroyed. Protectionism, greed, stealing, grabbing, violence, envy, and pride will have no place in the new heaven and the new earth. When we die to sin, death loses its sting over us, as St Paul wrote, “When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is indeed where the real cause of the celebration of Christmas lies, that we will gain victory over sin and death through Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection.
Jesus as the Messiah comes to heal our broken lives. St Matthew portrays Jesus as the hope of the nation. “Jesus reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and he went up into the hills. He sat there, and large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb, and many others; these they put down at his feet, and he cured them.” Jesus is like Moses who came to teach and to heal and to feed the people of God. Jesus, we know, is truly the Messiah because the people saw in Him the presence of God. “The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel.” This healing of the lame, the crippled and the blind and the dumb refers to all of us who are limping in faith and life, crippled by our sins, blinded by our pride, and dumb because we have been deaf to God’s word. But there is hope, if only we reach out to Him.
Indeed, Christmas would be meaningless if we are not celebrating the birth of Christ, the Messiah and Son of God. The joy of Christians at Christmas comes not from receiving presents, but from celebrating the fulfilment of our hope. With the first coming of Christ at Christmas, we are now assured of His second coming at the end of time, which began the moment we accepted Jesus into our lives. This is why the second coming of Christ is underscored in the first two weeks of Advent to help us to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of the Messiah. He is the One that can bring fulfilment in our lives.
Thus, the Gospel depicts Jesus celebrating, in anticipation, the messianic banquet in the miracle of the multiplication of loaves. When the Lord fed the five thousand, not counting the women and children, He was seen as the One who came to offer the messianic meal to all who came to Him. He was able to multiply seven loaves and a few small fish to feed the crowd. What is significant is that “they all ate as much as they wanted and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets full.” The symbolism intended by our Lord in feeding the multitude is to reinforce His messianic office. The Messiah is the one appointed by God to bring salvation to His people. And when the Lord feeds us, it will be more than we can consume. In other words, there will be complete and full satisfaction and no one will be hungry for more, whether for food, or love, or acceptance, or recognition. We will also attain the fullness of life and love.
Hence, by celebrating Christmas, the Church invites us to reflect on what Jesus will do for us. There would be no Christmas celebration indeed, if not for the fact that Jesus died and rose for us. If we had not known that Jesus is the Son of God by His life, passion, death and resurrection, there is no reason to celebrate Christmas. It is because of His paschal mystery, the offering of Himself as a gift for the salvation of the world, that we can appreciate the gift of God’s only Son to us all. As the People of God, we can also exclaim, “The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his peoples shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so. That day, it will be said: See, this is our salvation; the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. We exult and we rejoice that he has saved us; for the hand of the Lord rests on this mountain.”
On the basis of this hope, we can now live in hope as well. We can reach out in life and service to others. Instead of being inward-looking, exclusive, or parochial-minded, we are embracing and inclusive. We do not just care for ourselves, but think of others and seek to share what we have. In anticipation of the heavenly banquet, we will begin to live as a community of love, sharing with, and forgiving each other. By so doing, we are already having a foretaste of living in the house of God. Like the psalmist, we say, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.” And like our Lord, we will reach out to the nations to share with them the joy of knowing the Lord and of the Lord walking with us when we are in the valley of death.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment