20241214 TREATING OUR FAITH AS WE PLEASE
First reading |
Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4,9-12 |
The prophet Elijah will come again
The prophet Elijah arose like a fire,
his word flaring like a torch.
It was he who brought famine on the people,
and who decimated them in his zeal.
By the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens,
he also, three times, brought down fire.
How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah!
Has anyone reason to boast as you have?
Taken up in the whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses;
designated in the prophecies of doom
to allay God’s wrath before the fury breaks,
to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children,
and to restore the tribes of Jacob,
Happy shall they be who see you,
and those who have fallen asleep in love.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 79(80):2-3,15-16,18-19 |
God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hear us,
shine forth from your cherubim throne.
O Lord, rouse up your might,
O Lord, come to our help.
God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted.
God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
May your hand be on the man you have chosen,
the man you have given your strength.
And we shall never forsake you again;
give us life that we may call upon your name.
God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The day of the Lord is near;
Look, he comes to save us.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk3:4,6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight,
and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 17:10-13 |
Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him
As they came down from the mountain the disciples put this question to Jesus, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?’ ‘True;’ he replied ‘Elijah is to come to see that everything is once more as it should be; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands.’ The disciples understood then that he had been speaking of John the Baptist.
14 December 2024, Saturday, 2nd Week in Advent
TREATING OUR FAITH AS WE PLEASE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [SIR 48:1-4,9-11; PS 80:2-3,15-16,18-19; MT 17:10-13 ]
Advent is to prepare us for the coming of Christ in His First Coming in view of His Second Coming, and realized already as a foretaste in His existential coming. To prepare us for His First Coming, we had Elijah in the person of John the Baptist. In the gospel, Jesus made it clear after coming down from Mount Tabor where Elijah appeared together with Moses at the Transfiguration, that Elijah had already come in the person of John the Baptist. Indeed, it was widely believed as the prophet Malachi prophesied, “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight – indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” (Mal 3:1) Who is this messenger? “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.” (Mal 4:5f)
Who is Elijah? He was a fiery prophet of the Old Testament in the 9th Century. The first reading from the book of Sirach gives us a summary of the work of Elijah. He sought to preserve the pristine faith of Israel which was corrupted by evil kings such as King Ahab who married Jezebel, a pagan who brought into the Kingdom her god of fertility, Baal and the false prophets. Elijah preached with conviction, without mincing his words before the king and all the leaders of Israel. His entire mission was to protect the Covenant God made with Israel by keeping the people pure in the practise of their faith and faithful to Yahweh. He was “designated in the prophecies of doom to allay God’s wrath before the fury breaks, to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.”
But Elijah did not simply preach; he worked miracles. “It was he who brought famine on them, and who decimated them in his zeal. By the word of the Lord, he shut up the heavens, he also, three times, brought down fire. How glorious you were in your miracles, Elijah!” Indeed, such was the holiness of Elijah that he was gifted by God to be “taken up in the whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses.” By so doing, he prefigured the Ascension of our Lord and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As the psalmist asked, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.” (Ps 24:3f) Only those with purity of heart are worthy to come before the Lord.
Of course, other than Elijah, who was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, no one ever came close to him except for John the Baptist who, in Jesus’ assessment, was the greatest of the prophets. “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Mt 11:11) His life paralleled that of Elijah’s, so much so that people thought he was Elijah. The religious leaders of Jerusalem asked him, “‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.'” Both Elijah and John the Baptist received the Spirit to prophesy. Just as Elijah lived in the wilderness, so too did John the Baptist. Just as the birds sustained Elijah, locusts were the food of John the Baptist. Whereas Elijah had his loins girded with a girdle of leather, “John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist.” (Mt 3:4) Both were persecuted by women. Jezebel was after the life of Elijah, and Herodias was after John’s life. Just as Elijah reprimanded King Ahab for his infidelity to God, John reproved Herod for his infidelity to the law. Finally, Elijah opened the heavens but John saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descending upon Christ, the Saviour of the World.
The mission of John the Baptist was similar to Elijah’s. At his birth, Zechariah sang the song of blessing. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.” (Lk 1:76f) Both were prophets who called their people to repentance of heart and a return to God. Indeed, repentance is the pre-requisite for the Lord to enter our lives. This was what John the Baptist was called to do, which is “to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.” Only then, “by the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Lk 1:77-79) If we want to find peace and light, not living a zombie kind of life, drifting along and feeling unsettled and lost, then we must turn to God for forgiveness by first acknowledging our sins.
The cause of our unhappiness is that we are not true to ourselves, just like the people during the time of Elijah and John the Baptist. When Elijah confronted the people, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” We read that “the people did not answer him a word.” (1 Kg 18:21) The people knew who their God was, but they refused to acknowledge His power and majesty. They were ambivalent in their faith, wanting the best of both worlds, acknowledge the God of Israel but also Baal, the god of fertility for protection of their crops. In other words, they compromised their faith. This was also the case of King Herod when confronted by John the Baptist. “Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.” (Mk 6:17,20)
This is what the Lord warned His people; “I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands.” Indeed, this is what is happening among many Christians. We are supposedly believers of the Lord and His gospel. We go to church faithfully, Sunday after Sunday. We try to play our part by contributing financially to the church. Some of us are even involved in church ministries and humanitarian works for the poor and the needy, the marginalized and the displaced.
But when it comes to championing the Church’s moral and social teachings, we make compromises. We pick and choose those moral doctrines that we agree with, and reject those that we find unacceptable. Some of us condemn abortion but advocate euthanasia. Some of us speak of depopulation and encourage IVF, but we advocate abortion. Some of us condemn same-sex union but accept divorce and co-habitation. Some nations condemn other countries for practising social injustices, but in their own countries they are doing the same thing. Some condemn violence in their own country, but advocate violence in other countries. Some condemn war but they undertake wars when they feel it is just on their terms. Indeed, we pick and choose what we like. Even the devil can cite the scriptures for his purpose! We are not sincere about our faith.
By so doing, we are accepting the bible on our own terms and not on Jesus’ terms. This was what happened to the three would-be followers of our Lord. When the Lord asked one of them to follow Him, his condition was, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Another said, “”I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus made it clear that if we want to follow Him, we must do it on His terms. “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (cf Lk 9:59-62) Repentance means to make Jesus the centre of our lives and to pledge full allegiance to Him. Even when we find it difficult to accept, we say with Peter, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6:68f)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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