20161202 DO YOU BELIEVE?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 29:17-24 ©
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The Lord says this:
In a short time, a
very short time,
shall not Lebanon
become fertile land
and fertile land turn
into forest?
The deaf, that day,
will hear the words
of a book
and, after shadow and
darkness,
the eyes of the blind
will see.
But the lowly will
rejoice in the Lord even more
and the poorest exult
in the Holy One of Israel;
for tyrants shall be
no more, and scoffers vanish,
and all be destroyed
who are disposed to do evil:
those who gossip to
incriminate others,
those who try at the
gate to trip the arbitrator
and get the upright
man’s case dismissed for groundless reasons.
Therefore the Lord
speaks,
the God of the House
of Jacob,
Abraham’s redeemer:
No longer shall Jacob
be ashamed,
no more shall his
face grow pale,
for he shall see what
my hands have done in his midst,
he shall hold my name
holy.
They will hallow the
Holy One of Jacob,
stand in awe of the
God of Israel.
Erring spirits will
learn wisdom
and murmurers accept
instruction.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
26(27):1,4,13-14 ©
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The Lord is my
light and my help.
The Lord is my light
and my help;
whom
shall I fear?
The Lord is the
stronghold of my life;
before
whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my
light and my help.
There is one thing I
ask of the Lord,
for this
I long,
to live in the house
of the Lord,
all the
days of my life,
to savour the
sweetness of the Lord,
to behold
his temple.
The Lord is my
light and my help.
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness
in the
land of the living.
Hope in him, hold
firm and take heart.
Hope in
the Lord!
The Lord is my
light and my help.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Is45:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Send victory like a
dew, you heavens,
and let
the clouds rain it down.
Let the earth open
and bring forth the saviour.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Behold, our Lord will
come with power
and will enlighten
the eyes of his servants.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 9:27-31 ©
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As
Jesus went on his way two blind men followed him shouting, ‘Take pity on us,
Son of David.’ And when Jesus reached the house the blind men came up with him
and he said to them, ‘Do you believe I can do this?’ They said, ‘Sir, we do.’
Then he touched their eyes saying, ‘Your faith deserves it, so let this be done
for you.’ And their sight returned. Then Jesus sternly warned them, ‘Take care
that no one learns about this.’ But when they had gone, they talked about him
all over the countryside.
DO YOU
BELIEVE?
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ IS 29:17-24 ; MT 9:27-31 ]
Do you believe? This
is what God is asking of us. Indeed, in the first reading, to the
Israelites who lived in exile in Babylon, who had lost everything – land, the
Kingdom and the Temple – the Lord says to them, “In a short time, a very short
time, shall not Lebanon become fertile land and fertile land turn into
forest? The deaf that day, will hear the words of a book and, after
shadow and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see. But the lowly will rejoice
in the Lord even more and the poorest exult in the Holy One of Israel; for tyrants
shall be no more, and scoffers vanish, and all be destroyed who are disposed to
do evil: those who gossip to incriminate others, those who try at the gate to
trip the arbitrator and get the upright man’s case dismissed for groundless
reasons.” Is this dream possible? Truly, the Israelites found it
too difficult to believe that this prophecy would come true. Again, in
the gospel, Jesus asked the same question to the two blind men, “Do you believe
I can do this?”
Indeed, many of us are like
them in exile. We too are desperate and walking in the shadow of
death. The situation in our life does not seem to be moving forward or
changing. We are still stuck in our problems or the mess we have created
because of our folly. Our marriage is now on the rocks. We
are still unable to accept the infidelity of our spouse even though they have
asked for forgiveness. We say we want to forgive but we are still
hurting. Our children are not doing well in their studies and
abusing the trust and privileges given to them. Many people, young and
old are addicted to drugs, gambling, especially on-line gambling, pornography
and drinking. On top of all these problems, we are struggling with work
politics, low morale among our staff, health issues, physical or mental,
depression and meaninglessness. Some of us wish we could die earlier
because we are sick of life, of this world. Friends are not real.
They cheat us and make use of us. With financial commitments,
anxieties about the future, and all the confusion in life, we feel so
overwhelmed.
If we are feeling this way,
then do not give up hope. God is on the way to rescue us.
This is what the prophet said, “Therefore the Lord speaks, the God of the House
of Jacob, Abraham’s redeemer: No longer shall Jacob be ashamed, no more shall
his face grow pale, for he shall see what my hands have done in his midst, he
shall hold my name holy. They will hallow the Holy One of Jacob, stand in awe
of the God of Israel.” For Israel, they were finally able to return
to their homeland because of King Cyrus’ decree to allow them to return and
rebuild their homes and especially the Temple, with his support even,
financially and morally.
For us, Christ is our
redeemer, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. He has come to set
us free, to heal us and redeem us from our sins, slavery and
misery. He is full of compassion and mercy like our heavenly
Father. He will give us back our dignity and confidence in living our
life with purpose and meaning. He will help us to overcome all
fears. How will He help us? By showing us the way to live our life
meaningfully and courageously! He will show us how to conquer the fear of
death and most of all, how to bear our crosses joyfully after Him.
He will free us from all our bondages and give us true freedom, the freedom to
love freely and totally. He will help us to live each day by living one
day at a time, with faith and with joy. He has come to give us the light
for our salvation. This is what the psalmist says. “The Lord is my
light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink? I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the
land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the
Lord!” Indeed, this is the invitation today for those who have lost hope
and courage in life. Hope in the Lord! Come to Him and He will heal
us and give us life once again, in the land of the living.
How will this
happen? By delivering us from our blindness as He did for the two blind
men! It is the lack of spiritual understanding that prevents us from
seeing the mysteries of life in perspective. Because of the dullness of
mind and our ignorance, we are shortsighted and too myopic in the way we look
at our challenges and sufferings. We need to ask what is causing us to be
unhappy. Most of the time, our sins, selfishness and desires make us
grasp, hanker and cling on to what we want. This leads to envy, greed,
anger and discontentment. At times, it is because of our pride, the
refusal to admit our mistakes and our prejudices. We allow our pride to
blind us in doing things that serve our ego rather than doing what is right and
good. By insisting to have things our way, which is the offspring of
pride, namely, arrogance and stubbornness, we hurt ourselves.
That is why Jesus is asking
us as He did with the blind men, “Do you believe I can do this?” In other
words, He is asking firstly whether we really want to see. There is a
responsibility when we see. It is said that where ignorance is bliss, tis
folly to be wise. So the ability to see means that we have to do what we
know is the truth. Otherwise, we will suffer guilt for being culpable in
not doing the right things when we know that this is required of us. If
we are desperate and sincere like the blind men who really wanted to see, then
we need to follow Jesus as they did to the house where He was in.
But we cannot see clearly
unless we see with faith. This explains why the Church always says that
whilst faith is not against reason, faith purifies reason. Using human
reason alone, whilst not impossible, often will not lead us to the fullness of
truth. Faith gives us the eyes to see beyond reason. Faith enables
us to see more. Isn’t it true that when we trust someone, we can
understand that person better and see more in what he is saying than with
someone whom we do not trust or do not know? So if anyone wants to see,
he or she must first confess his or her faith in Jesus who is the Light of the
World, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Faith in Jesus will allow our
hearts to be receptive to His Word and understand what He is saying, not just
with our head but with our heart. Only such understanding from the heart
can bring about total conviction of mind and heart.
To come to see, means that
from now on, we see through the eyes of Jesus, whether it is with respect to
suffering, to living a life of truth or doing the will of God. In
other words, to see means to look at life with the lens of Jesus.
With Jesus, recovery of sight does not mean that our sufferings are taken
away. Rather, the pain could be embraced in the light of God’s truth and
His own suffering for us. In other words, we see sufferings, injustices,
hurts and illnesses in a different light. Once we have the light of
Christ, then we will stop hurting ourselves by refraining from those actions
that will destroy us. We will then be able to let go of those who have
hurt us. We learn contentment and not crave for this and that
thing. We learn to let go even of loved ones and those whom we love
so dearly but who no longer love us. Like Jesus, we learn to accommodate
others, their strengths and weaknesses, not to be judgmental but to be
understanding, forgiving and encouraging. Most of all, with spiritual sight, we
can unravel all our unconscious motivations in what we do and why we do so that
our intentions are purer and not simply a cover up of our insecurities, our
need for affirmation and acceptance, but truly because of love.
So we must pray earnestly
and be watchful. The prophet says, “Erring spirits will learn wisdom and
murmurers accept instruction.” Seeing entails reading the Word of God and
acquiring the Wisdom of God to judge all things. We are called to place
our total trust in Jesus. Like the blind men, we only have to
believe. Jesus says to them, “Your faith deserves it, so let this be done
for you.” Only faith in Jesus can give us the courage to surrender
our lives to Him, trust in His Word and claim His promises. With faith in
Jesus, we know that He can work wonders in our lives. Nothing is
impossible for Him.
With
the psalmist, we too will say, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of
Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with
laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the
nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done
great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” For the Israelites, it
was simply unbelievable that they could return to their homeland. It will
be the same for us, if we trust the Lord. He will help us find ourselves
and we will be at home with ourselves, living a life of contentment, enjoying
the simple things of life, but most of all, living a life of love, meaning and
purpose. Regardless of the situation, we are able to take His will and
take things as they come, for we know that submission to His will is the way we
find peace. Indeed, being at home with the Lord is what gives us joy and
peace. “There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in
the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness of the
Lord, to behold his temple.” In His house, when He lives in us, we find
perfect peace and joy.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
