THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS SIMPLY THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST

20161204 THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS SIMPLY THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST

Reading 1, Isaiah 11:1-10

1 A shoot will spring from the stock of Jesse, a new shoot will grow from his roots.

2 On him will rest the spirit of Yahweh, the spirit of wisdom and insight, the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and fear of Yahweh:

3 his inspiration will lie in fearing Yahweh. His judgement will not be by appearances. his verdict not given on hearsay.

4 He will judge the weak with integrity and give fair sentence for the humblest in the land. He will strike the country with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips bring death to the wicked.

5 Uprightness will be the belt around his waist, and constancy the belt about his hips.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid, calf, lion and fat-stock beast together, with a little boy to lead them.

7 The cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like the ox.

8 The infant will play over the den of the adder; the baby will put his hand into the viper's lair.

9 No hurt, no harm will be done on all my holy mountain, for the country will be full of knowledge of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea.

10 That day, the root of Jesse, standing as a signal for the peoples, will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

1 [Of Solomon] God, endow the king with your own fair judgement, the son of the king with your own saving justice,

2 that he may rule your people with justice, and your poor with fair judgement.

7 In his days uprightness shall flourish, and peace in plenty till the moon is no more.

8 His empire shall stretch from sea to sea, from the river to the limits of the earth.

12 For he rescues the needy who calls to him, and the poor who has no one to help.

13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the needy from death.

17 May his name be blessed for ever, and endure in the sight of the sun. In him shall be blessed every race in the world, and all nations call him blessed.

Gospel, Matthew 3:1-12

1 In due course John the Baptist appeared; he proclaimed this message in the desert of Judaea,

2 'Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.'

3 This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said: A voice of one that cries in the desert, 'Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.'

4 This man John wore a garment made of camel-hair with a leather loin-cloth round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him,

6 and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw a number of Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, 'Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming retribution?

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance,

9 and do not presume to tell yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father," because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones.

10 Even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees, so that any tree failing to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire.

11 I baptise you in water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

12 His winnowing-fan is in his hand; he will clear his threshing-floor and gather his wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.'

Reading 2, Romans 15:4-9

4 And all these things which were written so long ago were written so that we, learning perseverance and the encouragement which the scriptures give, should have hope.

5 Now the God of perseverance and encouragement give you all the same purpose, following the example of Christ Jesus,

6 so that you may together give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one heart.

7 Accept one another, then, for the sake of God's glory, as Christ accepted you.

8 I tell you that Christ's work was to serve the circumcised, fulfilling the truthfulness of God by carrying out the promises made to the fathers,

9 and his work was also for the gentiles, so that they should give glory to God for his faithful love; as scripture says: For this I shall praise you among the nations and sing praise to your name.

THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS SIMPLY THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISA 11:1-10; ROM 15:4-9; MT 3:1-12 ]

Christmas is celebrated all over the world by most people regardless of religion. But for many, Christmas can be celebrated without any inkling of who Christ is or even what the celebration is all about. How can this be? How could such a universal festival be celebrated without the subject of the feast, viz., the birth of Christ, being known? Does this mean therefore that this festival is merely reduced to a social festival that has no real significant meaning for them?

No, this is not true. Of course, in some cases, Christmas is nothing else but a time to be merry and to revel. But in many cases, perhaps, more than we think, those who celebrate Christmas without knowing the historical Christ are actually celebrating His birth and His person without explicitly recognizing it. Why do I say this? Because although they might not acknowledge the historical Christ, surely in celebrating Christmas as a time of love, peace and goodwill, a time of giving and forgiving, they have indeed allowed the Spirit of Christ to live in them and operate in them. In that sense, they, in a certain sense can be said to be really celebrating Christmas.

Indeed, this is what the scripture readings of today want to tell us. What is Christmas if not allowing the Spirit of Christ to live in our hearts; to be imbued with the Spirit of Christ in our lives? Yes, even for us as Christians, Christmas is not merely a commemoration of a historical event, but we are celebrating an event that is happening all the time in our lives, some days more intensely, other days less intensely. To allow the Spirit of Christ to live in us is another way of saying that Christmas is not simply about celebrating the birth of Christ 2000 years ago but a real celebration of the birth of Christ in our hearts everyday of our lives and in a special way at Christmas.

Consequently, we need to ask ourselves whether this Spirit that is being given to us is received by us. The urgent question that is posed to us in today’s lesson is simply: Do we share in the Spirit of Christ, that is, the spirit of wisdom, insight, counsel, power, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord; the spirit of peace and right relationships, like the wolf living at peace with the lamb – those qualities listed by the Prophet Isaiah in the first reading. The reality is that unless we have the Spirit of Christ in us, then Christmas would be just another social celebration; it will be a celebration without the Spirit of Christ’s love, peace and joy; but simply a celebration of the world’s spirit of self-indugence, fear, selfishness, oppression and self-centeredness – those sins that the Pharisees and the Sadducees are guilty of in today’s gospel reading. If that is the case, then Christmas is no better than any other social celebration. If we still find ourselves lacking peace and love and joy in our hearts, then it is a clear sign that we have not imbibed the Spirit of Christ yet.

So how can we share in the Spirit of Christ? For us Christians, we are in a privileged position and we should be thankful for this. Why do I say that we are a privileged people? Because those who celebrate Christmas without knowing Christ are those who are groping for happiness and peace in their lives without knowing the direction. For them, it will be by trial and error, searching for someone who can guide them to knowledge of the truth and the way to life. But for us, we need not search anymore in one sense. For us, as the second reading tells us, we have the scriptures, we have people and models who have gone before us, who have paid the price for their search for God and have imparted their roadmap to us and for us to find God. But most of all, we have Jesus Himself who is our way, our truth and our life – He who is born fully of God and of man, who, as the Paul tells us, is the glory of God. By following His example, we who are united with Him in mind and voice will give glory to God as well in Him. For this reason, we Christians can thank God for this beautiful privilege.

But what is the use of having the roadmap to God and to life, if we do not make use of it at all? The fact is that we all know we have the roadmap but we do not refer to it. It is wasted on us. It Is real tragedy. For this reason, we must take heed of the words of John the Baptist. We need to repent. To repent is not simply to confess our sins but to acknowledge the situation we are in. It is to be aware of what we are doing and how we are living – especially the vain ways of living. It means, according to John the Baptist, to realize that we are saved not by our kinship with Abraham or simply because we have been baptized as Christians. No, John the Baptist tells us as he told the Pharisees that God can raise children for Abraham from these stones. That is to say, just because we are Christians do not mean that we are living the Spirit of Christ in us. So repentance is acknowledgement of our folly and awareness of our foolish and ignorant ways of living. So, the confession of sins is not a mere confession with our lips but more importantly with our hearts. It is a confession that we are living the spirit of the world and not the Spirit of God in our lives.

But this is not sufficient. The baptism of repentance of John the Baptist is still incomplete. It is not enough to give up our bad habits or foolish ways of living. Because when we give up something, we create a void within ourselves. And every void must be filled and will be filled again either with good or bad things. So before it is filled again, we must ensure that we will not fill it with worse values in life; but we fill them with the Spirit of Christ. That is why the baptism of repentance of John the Baptist is only to prepare us for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist therefore tells us that he is only baptizing us with water, that is the water of repentance; but someone, namely Jesus, who is coming after him, is more powerful than he is, that he is not even fit to undo the straps of His sandals; He will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire.

This is it. This is the key to the full meaning of Christmas. We are called to repent so that we might appropriate the Spirit of Christ in us. It is Christ who will give us the gifts of the Spirit. These gifts however must not be reduced to those tangible, visible gifts like what we see or might have experienced in the charismatic movements, namely, the gifts of tongues, healing, prophecy etc. Indeed, these gifts are given to some members of the Christian community but not for themselves as such. Rather, these gifts are given for the building of the Body of Christ, the Christian community in love and service. Having those gifts which are meant purely for the service of the community can sometimes make us proud and indignant. That is why these are not the greatest gifts of the Spirit.

But even more important, are the gifts of the spirit of joy, love, peace, truth, wisdom, all those gifts mentioned in the first reading and those fruits that Paul mentions in his letter to the Galatians. These gifts do not make us egoistic, competitive or proud. No, they make us truly loving, forgiving, non-judgmental and peaceful people. Such gifts, as Paul tells us in the second reading, help us to treat each other the way Christ treats us. More than that, these are the gifts that really give us the fire of the Spirit – namely, the fire of life. It is faith, hope, love and peace that make life vibrant, dynamic and alive. Only when we live such vibrant lives, we can then claim to have the spirit of Christ in us – filling us with enthusiasm and joy. With such spirited life in us, surely we will also add fire to the lives of others around us, leading them to share the spirit of Christ.

Let us not wait anymore. The time is urgent; life is short. We need to make room for Jesus in our lives; we need to give Him space so that His Spirit may fill us with His love and peace and joy. If not, we will have a sad Christmas, or at most a pleasurable but empty Christmas. The supposed spirit of life that we happen to have at Christmas will just last for the day and then everything will be back to where we started, just like the drunkard person who suffers a hang-over the next day.

No, if we do not want to be the inn that has no place for Jesus when He comes knocking at our doors at Christmas, then let us give ourselves to serious prayer, self-examination and reflection, asking from the Lord His Spirit to purify us and to baptize us unto His death – the death to oneself, one’s ego, cravings and self-centeredness and complacency. For in the process of dying, we will experience the rebirth taking place in us. Christmas then, would not just be on Christmas Day, but has already begun, and is still taking place, especially in a powerful way on Christmas Day. Yes, Christmas for us cannot be a mere single day’s celebration but it must be a reality every moment in our lives. And it is so, if we allow Christ to be reborn again and again in our lives. Thus, for us, every day will be Christmas. Of course, every day can be Christmas only because we celebrate Christmas Day, that day when God’s love becomes real for us in Jesus.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved

DO YOU BELIEVE?

20161202 DO YOU BELIEVE?

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Isaiah 29:17-24 ©

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.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 ©

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.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Is45:8

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!

Or

Alleluia, alleluia!

Behold, our Lord will come with power

and will enlighten the eyes of his servants.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 9:27-31 ©

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