20241213 WISDOM IS VINDICATED BY TRUTH
First reading | Isaiah 48:17-19 |
If you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you,
I lead you in the way that you must go.
If only you had been alert to my commandments,
your happiness would have been like a river,
your integrity like the waves of the sea.
Your children would have been numbered like the sand,
your descendants as many as its grains.
Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 1:1-4,6 |
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
See, the king, the Lord of the world, will come.
He will free us from the yoke of our bondage.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord will come, go out to meet him.
Great is his beginning and his reign will have no end.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 11:16-19 |
They heed neither John nor the Son of Man
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:
“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t be mourners.”
‘For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’
13 December 2024, Friday, 2nd Week in Advent
WISDOM IS VINDICATED BY TRUTH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISAIAH 48:17-19; Ps 1:1-4,6; MATTHEW 11:16-19]
When we look back on our past, the wrong decisions we have made, we cannot but be filled with deep regret and remorse. Because of our folly, we have caused much sufferings to our loved ones and our friends, created a mess of our lives and reaped the consequences of our mistakes. This was the same message that Isaiah was addressing the Israelites in exile in Babylon. They did not listen to the Word of God. They were rebellious and wanted to do things their way. They rejected the prophets’ warnings and exhortation to return to the ways of the Lord. They worshipped false gods, not just importing idolatry, but sought power, glory and wealth at the expense of the poor through oppression, corruption, bribery, killing and cheating. A weakened and divided nation, they could not resist the attacks of their enemies and they collapsed when the Babylonians invaded their land. The intelligent, the rich and the powerful were sent to Babylon as captives to develop the city whereas only the poor and powerless remained behind.
What was the reason for the tragic circumstances they were in? Simply because they were stubborn and insisted on going their way and doing their things. God said, “If only you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river, your integrity like the waves of the sea. Your children would have been numbered like the sand, your descendants as many as its grains. Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.” “If only”, these two words are words of lost opportunities and regret! Indeed, most of us have only the gift of hindsight, if at all! Few people have the gift of foresight. Alas, it is always too late to regret because we cannot undo what we had done. However, there is still hope; we can try to salvage what is left and rebuild ourselves in wisdom and truth. All is not lost. This is the message of Advent, the season of hope.
Isaiah says, “God is our redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” If the prophets cannot move our hearts and our minds, He Himself will teach us. The Lord said, “I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you, I lead you in the way that you must go.” This is the great news of the season of Advent. God comes to lead us the way to fullness of life. He comes in a special way in Christ Jesus. He is the Word of God in person, the Wisdom of God. Jesus came to teach us wisdom so that we can live our lives freely, joyfully and meaningfully. All that is needed is for us to welcome the Lord and His word in our lives. The responsorial psalm says, “Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life. Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night. He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper.”
Unfortunately, we are no better, even worse than the Israelites. We never learn. The Israelites rejected the prophets but like the Jews during the time of our Lord, we reject not just the prophets but even Jesus, the Wisdom of God in person. In the gospel, we read how the Jewish people were behaving like spoilt children. Jesus spoke to the crowds: “What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place: ‘We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t be mourners.’ For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He is possessed.’ The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'” They were just finding excuses not to accept the truth that both John the Baptist and our Lord taught. They refused to admit the truth of their messages, whether it is the message of repentance from John the Baptist or the message of joy, true freedom and inclusivity of Jesus.
Isn’t this the way even so-called church-going Catholics also behave? We are not docile to changes in the Church. We all want to be stuck in our own views and traditions without allowing for renewal and integration of others’ culture and traditions. We are not receptive to the changing times, the changing needs and the new challenges ahead of us. We are not willing to adapt our structures and institutions to allow for more creativity, participation of the faithful, especially women and the young, and even our liturgy to meet the needs and thirsts of our people for God, for a deeper, not just a ritualistic, encounter with Him. The way we catechize, the way we evangelize and the way we form our adults and involve them in Church ministries must change. Otherwise, the Church will one day become redundant!
We tend to be exclusive in the way we approach life and faith, like those people that Jesus mentioned in the gospel. There were those who favoured only the approach of John the Baptist, the “fire, hell and brimstone” way of bringing our people back to God. He was in the wilderness, outside the city and villages, crying out for conversion of hearts. He did not mince his words, calling the Pharisees and Scribes, “brood of vipers”, or condemning Herod’s adulterous affair with Herodias. That could be one way of approaching the work of proclaiming the Word of God. But this is not the only way because sometimes, the hard approach turns people off even before they can hear the message and be receptive to it. For some, it works powerfully because they need a powerful awakening of their conscience.
But in today’s time, the approach of our Lord is more helpful. Jesus was the fulfilment of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah when St Matthew cited Isaiah 42 in describing the approach of Jesus in His ministry. “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smouldering wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.” (Mt 12:18-21; cf Isa 42:1-4) Jesus indeed, went about eating and drinking with sinners. Unlike John the Baptist who emphasized on the mournful aspects of conversion, Jesus as the Bridegroom underscored the joy of conversion, of being reconciled with God and our fellowmen. Instead of excluding sinners from fellowship, the Lord invited them for fellowship. He knew that the best way to reach out to sinners was to be with them in their journey, approaching them from where they were and slowly bringing them to the fullness of truth. We need patience, compassion and understanding.
Indeed, this is what we are called to do today as well. We are called to journey with our people in their search for the truth. Instead of waiting for sinners to come to Church, we must bring the Church to them. We must proclaim the truth and convey the love of our Lord through music, worship, preaching not just in the church but outside as well, in the malls, in our offices and through digital media. Instead of excluding those who are not able to live up to the ideals of the gospels, whether they are abortionists, divorcees and remarried, same sex couples, etc., we must welcome them and allow the Lord to reveal to them the fullness of truth, of life and love. At any rate, which one of us is perfectly following all the teachings of Christ?
In the final analysis, as the Lord rightly remarked, “Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.” Whether the Church is teaching the truth or not, whether we have the Word of God, will be proven by the unfolding of history. Whether the Church is right on moral issues, such as prohibition of surrogate motherhood, IVF, contraceptives, divorce, same sex union, euthanasia, etc. will be known many years from now when we see the full impact of the secular and pragmatic policies adopted by society and the governments. Time will reveal who is right and who is wrong. As the Lord said, when the Spirit comes, “he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” (Jn 16:8) Alas, if we do not take heed, it might be too late. We might have to pay a bigger price than the Israelites. The trends of the world are moving us towards destruction and annihilation. The protectionists and imperialistic ambitions of powerful countries and self-centred people will make this world a very unsafe place and could lead to deadly wars, destruction of economies and ecology.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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