20241221 THE CAUSE OF OUR JOY
First reading |
Song of Songs 2:8-14 |
See how my Beloved comes, leaping on the mountains
I hear my Beloved.
See how he comes
leaping on the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My Beloved is like a gazelle,
like a young stag.
See where he stands
behind our wall.
He looks in at the window,
he peers through the lattice.
My Beloved lifts up his voice,
he says to me,
‘Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
For see, winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth.
The season of glad songs has come,
the cooing of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree is forming its first figs
and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance.
Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock,
in the coverts of the cliff,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet
and your face is beautiful.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 32(33):2-3,11-12,20-21 |
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
His own designs shall stand for ever,
the plans of his heart from age to age.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in his holy name.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O sing him a song that is new.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Key of David, who open the gates of the eternal kingdom,
come to liberate from prison
the captive who lives in darkness.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Emmanuel,
our king and lawgiver,
come and save us,
Lord our God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:39-45 |
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
21 December 2024, Saturday, 3rd Week in Advent
THE CAUSE OF OUR JOY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Songs 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Ps 33; Lk 1:39-45]
What is the cause of our joy in life? This is what the scripture readings today invite us to reflect on. For those under oppression or slavery, joy is when they are freed from their enemies. This is what the scripture reading from Zephaniah says. “Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away. The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you have no more evil to fear.” Indeed, slavery is one of the reasons for our misery. But we must not restrict enemies merely to physical enemies. The greatest enemy is our sins. So joy comes from knowing that we are forgiven and that we are no longer under the bondage of our sins. It is best celebrated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, knowing that God has forgiven our sins. Truly, those of us who prepared well for the Sacrament of Reconciliation will testify to the effectiveness of the Sacrament in freeing us from our fears and bondages to the past. Being freed from guilt will give us peace.
Joy is when God is our King and Lord and we are no longer under the bondage of sin and selfishness. This was what Zephaniah prophesied about Jerusalem, the Holy City which was captured by the Babylonians. It would be restored and the Lord would once again be truly king in Jerusalem. After being dominated by foreign powers, the Jews longed for true freedom under the Lordship of Yahweh. Jesus was the fulfilment of this desire. Being a son of David, Jesus came to restore the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, when He came, they failed to recognize the kingship of God in His proclamation and in His way of life. This was because He came not in triumph or in majesty but as a humble servant serving the poor, the sick, the crippled, the deaf, the blind, the oppressed, the lost and the marginalized. He established His Lordship through the rule of love rather than the law and power. If we want to have a share of this joy, we too must share in His kingship through service and compassion.
But a purer joy comes from the experience of being loved. In all the scripture readings of today, the theme is of a joy that comes from being loved by God. From the book of Song of Songs, we read of the joy of the meeting of the beloved and her lover. The lover waits for the beloved patiently. When the beloved hears the voice of his love, there is great joy. The love between the man and woman is compared to the love of God for us. When we encounter the love of God, the joy in us cannot be expressed. To know God’s love gives us a joy and peace that the world cannot find. Love wants to see the beloved. Love wants to be united with the beloved. Love wants to hear the beloved. So too for us. We encounter the love of God by hearing His words, feeling His love, and being one with Him.
But there is no greater joy than when the Lord comes to dwell in our hearts. This was the case of Elizabeth and John the Baptist. “Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.” Through the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth instinctively knew the Lord was present in Mary’s womb because not only did she herself, but the baby in her womb too leaped for joy. There is no greater encounter than to meet the Lord Jesus. When we meet the Lord in prayer, in Holy Communion or through our brothers and sisters, and those whom we serve, we are always filled with joy.
Certain dispositions are required for one to enter into the joy of the Lord. We need the gift of faith. We need to open our eyes of faith to see the Lord dwelling in us and in others. Elizabeth in today’s gospel called Mary blessed because “she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” To be blessed is to be joyful because we see the Lord working in our lives. This joy, however, is given only to those who allow God to use them as Mary did. Indeed, Mary is blessed, as her cousin Elizabeth remarked, not simply because the Lord favoured her but because she believed. In truth, God wants to bless us all, but often we lack faith in Him. Faith is the key to receiving God’s grace and love.
This is why faith presupposes humility as a virtue. For the Holy Spirit to work in us, we must be disposed to welcome Him. The grace of the Holy Spirit is operative only with the humble of heart. Mary’s greatness lies in her humility and openness to the will of God. Her virginity is a symbol of her total dedication to the Lord. She looked upon herself as one of the Anawim, a lowly handmaid of the Lord. Through the grace of God, humility manifests itself in generosity and wonder. Being amazed at God’s wonder and love for us is what brings joy. This was the case of Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth, upon greeting Mary, said, “Why am I so favored?” She was filled with wonder why she was chosen with her son to participate in God’s plan of salvation. Mary, too, was filled with wonder and thanksgiving as we read in her Magnificat praising God’s mercy for choosing her and blessing her with this great privilege of being the mother of the Saviour. The attitude of joy in Elizabeth is what we believers must acquire. Do we feel privileged that we are called to share in the life and mission of Christ? If we do, then we would be filled with joy.
But Christian joy is different from worldly joy. Being blessed does not mean that we are free from suffering. Very often, we consider ourselves blessed when we have good health, a good job, good friends to support us and when we live reasonably well. But Christian blessedness is a paradoxical blessedness because saints and martyrs are called blessed because they share the cross of our Lord just as Mary was pierced with a sword in her heart when her Son was crucified on the cross. Indeed, for Mary to be chosen to be the mother of God’s Son is an awesome privilege but also a great responsibility. To be chosen by God often means at the same time receiving both a crown of joy and a crown of sorrow, like Mary. God does not choose someone so that he or she could have a comfortable life that is inward-looking, but in order to use him or her for the service of His people. Yet, Mary’s joy was not taken away by her sorrow because she suffered with faith, hope and trust in God. This is the supernatural joy which enables one to bear any sorrow or pain which neither life nor death could take away.
Indeed, we must find strength in the joy of the Lord as our Lady did. This has always been how the People of God found strength in times of trial. (cf Neh 8:10) Mary was a woman of joy, as seen in her joyful desire to be of service when she set out in haste to assist Elizabeth in her old age. It was the desire to share her joy that gave her the strength to travel the rugged terrain to serve Elizabeth. She was a true servant of the Lord. When we serve like her with joy and simplicity, we bring joy to others, as Mary did with Elizabeth. Indeed, it is important that joyful service can only be given when a person’s heart is full of joy, otherwise the service given would be given grudgingly and reluctantly. Such service and giving would bring no joy to the recipients. We must remember that “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:7) Those who give with joy give twice over, and receive joy for themselves.
Consequently, as we prepare to welcome the Lord, let us accept all difficulties with joy in our hearts, especially in service and in witnessing to the Lord. We must have faith that God will use our pain and suffering for His greater glory. We show God to others when we accept everything with gratitude and with joy. This is only possible when we have a joyful heart that is filled with gratitude and love for the Lord. We are therefore called to be like Mary, being a missionary for Christ, carrying Jesus in us. Mary was the first missionary, the bearer of the greatest news of Joy that Christ is born in our hearts and in our midst whenever we put on Christ. There is no greater joy to give to others than to give them Jesus. The greatest gift that we can offer to others is Jesus because to have Jesus is to have everything. The things of this world do not last; only God is truly lasting joy and peace.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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