Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together: December 2025

Saturday, 13 December 2025

IS JOHN THE BAPTIST THE ELIJAH TO COME, OR JESUS?

20251213 IS JOHN THE BAPTIST THE ELIJAH TO COME, OR JESUS?

13 December 2025, Saturday, 2nd Week in Advent

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.

How to listen

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.

IS JOHN THE BAPTIST THE ELIJAH TO COME, OR JESUS?

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [SIR 48:1-4,9-11; Ps 80:2-3,15-16,18-19; MT 17:10-13]

As we enter the third Sunday of Advent, the Church invites us to reflect on the forerunner of Christ. The prophet Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, prophesied: “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) Within this context, we can appreciate why the Jews who were awaiting the Day of the Lord speculated that Elijah must return first. Until Elijah returned, they believed, the Messiah would not appear. Of course, they understood the Day of the Lord as the time when Israel would be restored to her former glory under King David. They thought in terms of a powerful, military, and triumphant Messiah.

Who was Elijah? He was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, a powerful preacher of the Word of God. His mission was to bring all of Israel back to faith in God and to the covenantal relationship with Him. He confronted King Ahab and his pagan queen, Jezebel. He defeated the false prophets of Baal after they failed to call down fire from their gods to consume their sacrifice. Despite their prolonged prayers, shouting, and self-mutilation, their gods did not answer. In contrast, Elijah soaked his sacrifice with water several times, and when he called upon the Lord, God sent fire to consume it. So great was Elijah’s power that when he announced a drought in Israel as God’s punishment, it lasted three years. Finally, we are told that at the end of his life he was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire.

There was great speculation when John the Baptist appeared, particularly about his identity. Prophecy had been silent for 400 years since Malachi, and now John appeared as a powerful preacher. Earlier, our Lord praised John the Baptist: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist.” (Mt 11:7-11)

But confusion about John’s identity was partly caused by his own denials. When questioned, he denied being the Messiah, Elijah, or even the prophet foretold by Moses (Jn 1:19-22; Dt 18:15-21). Rather, as the Lord affirmed, John was “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.'” (Jn 1:23; cf. Isa 40:3) He came to prepare the way for Christ: “I baptise with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” (Jn 1:26)

If John the Baptist was not Elijah, some speculated that perhaps Jesus was. We recall what Jesus asked His disciples at Caesarea Philippi: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:13-15) Even Herod thought similarly: “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” For some were saying, “John the baptiser has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” Others said Jesus was Elijah or a prophet like those of old (Mk 6:14-16).

The speculation that Jesus could be the new Elijah arose because His ministry resembled Elijah’s. Jesus also preached the Word of God with power and authority–though not in Elijah’s fiery style. But Jesus also performed great miracles like Elijah, who multiplied food and oil for the widow of Zarephath and raised her son who died. Most notably, the early Church – namely St. Luke – portrayed the Ascension of our Lord with imagery reminiscent of Elijah’s being taken up into heaven forty days after His resurrection. Elijah, too, had spent forty days at Mount Horeb in prayer before he encountered God in the silence.

In the mind of our Lord, however, John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come before the Day of the Lord to prepare the way for the Messiah. Jesus affirmed this again in today’s Gospel. After the Transfiguration, where Elijah appeared, the disciples asked, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?“ Jesus replied, “True, 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.”

If this were so, the disciples could infer that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. This truth was confirmed at the Transfiguration when the Father declared, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Mt 17:5) By alluding to His own suffering, Jesus showed that the people had failed to recognise John as the Elijah who prepared the way for the Lord. Just like the religious leaders, even the political leaders failed to understand that John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Messiah to come. Their rejection of John foreshadowed their rejection of Jesus as well: “The Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hands.”

The early Church was clear that John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Lord, as seen in Zechariah’s prophecy: “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) John himself affirmed this. At Jesus’ baptism he proclaimed: “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptising with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (Jn 1:29-34) Therefore, we must affirm the truth that John the Baptist is indeed the forerunner of our Lord.

In turn, we must remember that, like John the Baptist, we are called to prepare the way for the Lord to enter our lives and the lives of others. We, too, must repent of our sins and respond to the call to conversion. In our case, we are preparing not so much for the first coming of the Lord but in view of Christ’s second coming at the end of time. But it is not enough to prepare ourselves without calling others to meet the Lord. We must help others to recognise Him as St John did, always pointing out Jesus to them. As he said, “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:28-30) This should be our joy in Advent as we prepare for Christmas. Let us help someone encounter Jesus through our love, encouragement, joy, prayers, and faith-sharing. May our lives reveal the Lord and lead others to faith in Him.

Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections

Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.

Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.

Friday, 12 December 2025

STUBBORN REFUSAL

20251212 STUBBORN REFUSAL

12 December 2025, Friday, 2nd Week in Advent

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.

How to listen

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.’

STUBBORN REFUSAL

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 48:17-19; Ps 1:1-4,6; MATTHEW 11:16-19]

How often have we felt frustrated trying to get our point across to someone because, no matter what we say, the person finds fault with our position? It is like a debate in which both sides have already decided on their position and seek only to advance their own view. We cannot expect to change the mind of such a person, because he or she has already made up their mind and is closed to alternative views. Anything that goes against their position will be met with resistance and counter-arguments.

If this is true in ordinary life, it is even more so when it comes to the question of faith. Those who choose not to believe will find every possible way to dismantle our doctrines or our experience of God. That is what atheists and humanists seek to do: to prove that God does not exist. That is also what some non-Christians attempt, trying to show that Jesus was merely a good man but a misguided martyr. Some even suggest that He did not rise from the dead, but that His body was stolen by His disciples and brought to India, where He supposedly married Mary Magdalene. This is why the Lord told Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” And John concluded the book by writing, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in His name.” (Jn 20:29-31)

In the Gospel, Jesus encountered the same lame excuses from the religious leaders who rejected His message. He used the analogy of children playing among themselves: “What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the marketplace: ‘We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t be mourners.'” In using this analogy, Jesus was referring to Himself and John the Baptist. John came dressed in camel’s hair and lived an ascetic life in the wilderness, and they claimed he was possessed by an evil spirit. On the other hand, Jesus ate and drank with sinners, and they denounced Him as “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

Both were rejected by the religious leaders–not because what they said was untrue, but because the leaders were unwilling to give up their prestige, their power, and their revenue. This was made clear in their confrontation with Jesus when they questioned His authority after He drove the merchants out of the Temple. “‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued among themselves, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin,” we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And He replied, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.'” (Mt 21:23-27)

Ultimately, it is a question of sincerity, honesty, and docility. When our minds are made up, nothing will change us. Franz Werfel, in The Song of Bernadette, wrote, “For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.” If we are receptive, sincere, and seeking the truth, we will come to appreciate and believe what we hear. We may not fully understand or agree with a position, but at least we can begin to see where others are coming from. That openness gives us the possibility to reconsider, to pray, and to continue pursuing the truth. Those who are not open simply do not want to hear or be challenged.

In truth, there was no substantial difference between the message of our Lord and that of John the Baptist. Both were concerned with the call to repentance and the reception of the Good News. John the Baptist was direct: he exposed the sins of the people, struck their conscience, and called them to repentance, warning them of God’s wrath if they refused. In the case of Jesus, His approach was to speak about the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and how we are loved by God. Yet Jesus also warned that those who rejected this invitation would suffer the consequences of their stubborn refusal to accept the Word of God.

This kind of rejection occurs not only between believers and non-believers, or between Christians and non-Christians, but also within the Catholic community. Many of our petty disputes revolve around the liturgy. Some insist on strict liturgy, even returning to the Tridentine Rite; others want innovation to make the liturgy more participative and meaningful for today’s generation. Some insist on traditional theological hymns, while others prefer Scriptural inspirational songs. Some want a solemn Mass to highlight the sacredness of worship; others prefer a less formal Mass with greater community participation, expressing joy, sadness, and fear. Those in the Charismatic renewal prefer praise and worship with raised hands and clapping; traditionalists prefer solemnity, quiet, and customary gestures. And the list goes on.

There are also disagreements on operational issues. Some want the air-conditioning on; others want it off. When there is no air-conditioning, some complain it is too warm and stay outside talking throughout Mass. Now that churches are air-conditioned, some stay outside or stop coming because it is too cold. Some want longer homilies; others want shorter ones. Some want priests to visit and minister more – yet complain when the priests are not in their office. It is impossible to please everyone. Others complain the church is boring and want more activities and formation talks. Yet when the church organises courses, seminars, programs, recollections, and talks, few attend, saying the topics are uninteresting or irrelevant.

At the end of the day, the Lord gave us the principle by which to discern what to accept or reject: “Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.” In other words, time will tell whether a position or approach is correct. Jesus is the Messiah, proven by His death and resurrection. Likewise, the Lord told the exiled Israelites, “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.” By refusing to listen to His prophets, they ended up in their predicament. Therefore they should listen to “the Holy One of Israel: I, the Lord your God, teach you what is good for you and lead you in the way you must go.”

So too must we listen to the Lord and walk in His ways. The psalmist says, “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 planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade; and all that he does shall prosper.” In other words, instead of being prejudiced against people, their ways of worship, or their styles of service, we must ask whether what they do truly brings about greater love and union with God, expressed through love of neighbour.

Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections

Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.

Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.