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.
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.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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