Studying God's Word on a Sunday Morning: December 2007

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Third Sunday of Avent (A)

Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.

Mt 11:2-11

John was in prison.

Why? Because John the Baptist dared to tell Herod that it was wrong for him to take his brother’s wife and make her his own wife. Herod didn’t like that and so he put him in prison. What does this say about John the Baptist? That he was brave. That he was not afraid of calling a spade, a spade even if it landed him in prison.

He sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

When John spoke about the Messiah, he spoke about the ax that is ready to cut down the trees that did not bear fruit. He spoke about burning the useless chaff. In other words, he thought the Messiah would come to punish sinners.

And when Jesus came to be baptized, John the Baptist pointed him out as the Lamb of God.

But when Jesus began his public ministry, he did not act the way John the Baptist expected him to act. Instead of being hard on sinners, he was welcoming towards them.

So John sent his disciples to Jesus to find out if he really was the Messiah.

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”

The answer of Jesus was a quotation from the Prophet Isaiah. In that passage, Isaiah described how the time of the Messiah would look like. And in fact, Jesus was doing just that. In other words, Jesus was telling John the Baptist that he was indeed the Messiah.

And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.

And Jesus adds this sentence. What he means is that John should not lose faith in him just because Jesus did not fit his expectations about the Messiah,

As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

John the Baptist was the last and the greatest of the Prophets. Why? Because he was the one given the privilege of announcing the nearness of the Kingdom. Although that is the case, those who are part of the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Why? Because belonging to the Kingdom is a greater privilege.

LESSONS

1. Jesus spoke well about John the Baptist before the people.

How often do we speak ill about people? Someone gives this advice. If you’ve got nothing good to say about someone, just keep quiet.

Do you know that if somebody has done something bad we are not allowed to spread the news to other people? It is sinful. Once upon a time someone went to St. Philip Neri and confessed that she had spread around the bad things that a neighbour had done. For penance, St. Philip told her to bring the feathers of a dressed chicken on top of a hill and throw them into the winds. Then she should go back to him. She did her penance and went back to St. Philip. He then told the woman to go back up the hill and gather the feathers. The woman protested that it was impossible to do that. St. Philip told the woman, “Do you now see how bad it is to spread bad things about people? You can no longer undo the harm that you caused.”

2. John expected the Messiah to act in a certain way. But Jesus acted in a different way. Jesus tells John to continue believing in him in spite of that.

God’s ways are not our ways. Many times we can’t understand why God acted in a way that is different from our expectations. When that happens, God asks us to continue believing just as Jesus asked John to continue believing in him. Why? Because God knows what he is doing.

For example, many years ago, I was working in a place called Joriz. One weekend I was invited to the birthday celebration of the first child of a young couple. It was his first birthday. The following weekend when I passed by their barong-barong I saw lights inside. There was a small coffin. The baby had died! Why should God allow an innocent baby to die? I don’t know. It seems unfair. We just have to believe that God knows what he is doing.

3. John’s role was to prepare the way of Jesus. He did that by preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

In the gospel, the Greek word for repentance is “metanoia”. Metanoia means a change of mind, a change of heart. In other words, repentance must come from within. And because something has happened inside us, something will have to happen outside us. In other words, the change in behaviour outside must be the result of a change of mind and heart.

I read in the newspaper the story of a young man. He comes from the province and his family sent him to Manila to study. Being away from home for the first time, he fell into the company of bad companions. He started skipping classes. He started spending the money send to him in ‘gimmicks’. As a consequence, he even failed many subjects. He wouldn’t even go home during vacation and sem breaks. His excuse was that he had extra-curricular activities. Then one day he received a phone call. He was told to go home at once. When he arrived home, he saw a coffin. His father had just died. His mother told him that his father had been very sick but they did not tell him because they didn’t want him to worry as it could affect his studies. They also told him that since his father was sick, the family business started to fail. But they tightened their belts so that he could continue studying in Manila. When he heard that, he burst into tears. He confessed to his mother how he had behaved in Manila. And he asked pardon from his mother. In the newspaper article, he wrote that at that moment he was willing to receive any punishment that his mother would give him because of what he had done. Instead, his mother hugged him and told him that she forgave him. After the funeral, he returned to Manila a changed person. His behaviour changed because something in him changed. He finished schooling. And when he wrote that article, he had already seen the result of the board exams. He had passed it. He had passed the medical board exams.

What will make Christmas a meaningful religious event? When we are able to bring about a change in behaviour that springs from a change of mind and a change of heart.

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The Salesians of Don Bosco is a religious congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to the welfare of the young. If you feel called by God to give your life for the good of the young, you may want help in discovering if this is really God's will for you. Please get in touch with the Vocation Director (Don Bosco North Province, Philippines) - 0917-7930112 - finvoc@yahoo.com - Bro. MON CALLO SDB.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

2nd Sunday of Advent (A)

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

Mt 3:1-12

If there is one person who should be in the spotlight during the Advent season, it is John the Baptist. During his lifetime, he prepared the people of Israel for Jesus. The prophet Isaiah describes him as “A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” Advent is the time of preparation for Christmas. He can teach us how to welcome Christ on Christmas. And this is what we shall learn today.

According to the Gospel, John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. Why did St. Matthew mention this detail? I am sure it was not because he wanted to inform us about what was in fashion in those days. You see, the Jews believed that Elijah would be the one to herald or to announce the coming of the Messiah. If you read the OT (Old Testament), you will discover that Elijah wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. What St. Matthew wants to tell us is that John the Baptist is the Elijah who is to announce the coming of the Messiah.

If you see St. John the Baptist wearing clothes made of camel’s hair and further, if you see him eat only locusts and wild honey, you would say that he is an austere man. Austere people are credible because your first impression is of a holy man. They strike you as sincere. You don’t get the impression that they are after money or power. And that is why they are credible. Take Gandhi, for example. He is called Mahatma. Mahatma means great soul. He wore a white loincloth which he himself wove. He comes across as a holy man, as an austere man. What you see is what you get. He is sincere. That makes him credible. And that is why he was able to rally all of India to use non-violence in order to force the British to grant independence.

Sincere comes from two Latin words, ‘sine’ and ‘cera’. ‘Sine’ means without and ‘cera’ mean wax. Sincere means without wax. What does this mean? In Greek plays actors wear masks made of wax. The masks tell the audience about the character the actor is portraying. In so doing, the masks hide from the public who the real person is. And so when a person is sincere, he doesn’t wear any mask. What you see is what you get.

If we want to respond positively to the invitation of John the Baptist to repent, then we have to take off our masks so that we can see who we truly are. For it is only when we see the ‘real me’ that we can know what we need to repent of and where we need to change.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

First Sunday of Advent (A)

As it was in the days of Noah,so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Mt 24:37-44

Happy New Year! Yup, it’s New Year alright. It’s not the civil New Year but the New Year of the Liturgical Calendar.

The Liturgical Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent and ends on Saturday after the Solemnity of Christ the King.

During the Liturgical Year we commemorate the important events in the life of Christ. The two most important events are Christmas (God fulfills his promise of sending the Savior.) and Easter (Jesus by rising from the dead has conquered sin and death for us.)

Important events need preparation. We prepare for Christmas during the season of Advent. We prepare for Easter during the season of Lent.

Out of sight. Out of mind. We need to see something so that we will not forget. The Advent Wreath is what Mother Church uses to remind us to prepare ourselves for Christmas.

ADVENT WREATH

It has four candles to represent the four Sundays of Advent. Each Sunday one candle is lighted until all four are lit.

Three candles are violet. One is pink.

Violet is the color of preparation. That is why the color of Lent is also violet. How do we prepare ourselves? St. John the Baptist tells us how: “Make straight his paths!” In other words, our preparation consists in repentance and conversion. That is why, confession is an important act during Advent and during Lent.

Is there a difference in the preparation of Advent and Lent? Yes, there is. The Advent preparation is a joyful one. The Lenten preparation is a somber one.

Why is one candle pink? The pink candle is lighted on the Third Sunday of Advent. Pink stands for joy. Ilang tulog na lang Pasko na! (Literally, a few more sleeps and it will be Christmas!) That is why we are joyful.

Then the shape of the Advent wreath is a circle. The circle has no beginning and no end. The circle stands for eternity. Eternity has no beginning and no end. Why are we being reminded of eternity during Advent? The first part of Advent is about the Second Coming of Christ. The second part of Advent is about the First coming of Christ. When Christ comes again, time will end and eternity will begin. For those who are found worthy of heaven, it will be happiness—body and soul—without end.

Green is the color of the Advent Wreath. Green stands for hope. We are invited to put our hope in Jesus. What does that mean? It means that we trust that Jesus in his goodness will enable us to be happy in heaven for all eternity.

NOAH’S ARK

The gospel for this Sunday begins by mentioning Noah’s Ark. God commanded Noah to build an Ark so that he and his family might be saved from the great flood that he was going to send. The flood was going to kill off all life on earth. Humanity’s sins have reached such proportions that God could no longer stand it. But since Noah was a just man, God was going to save him and his family. And while Noah was building his Ark, people laughed at him. But Noah was not deterred. God gave the command. He believed in God. And he built the Ark. And when the flood came, he and his family were saved.

God sent the flood because God couldn’t stand anymore the sins of men. It is interesting to note that some Saints could smell the stench of sin. The more serious the sins, the more intense the stench was. St. John Bosco (or Don Bosco) said that sometimes the smell was so bad, he was at the point of vomiting.

The season of Advent calls us to repent and be converted. St. Francis de Sales says that repentance should include an abhorrence of sin. Abhorrence of sin may be compared to our reaction to stench. Dapat nating pandirihan ang ating mga kasalanan.

An ark is a boat or a ship. One of the symbols of the Church is a boat. St. John Bosco had a vision about the Church. (Don Bosco used to call his visions “dreams” because these visions usually came to him in his sleep.) In that vision the Church was represented by a ship. That vision came to be known as the Dream of the Two Pillars.

In that vision, the boat under the command of the Pope was being attacked on all sides. The enemy ships wanted to sink the ship of the Church. The Pope ordered the ship to seek safety between two giant pillars coming out of the sea. Upon reaching the two pillars, he ordered the ship to be tied to the two pillars. On top of the higher pillar was the Sacred Host. On top of the lower pillar was a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Once the ship of the Church was tied securely to the two pillars, a violent wind sprung from nowhere and sunk the enemy ships. Only the ship of the Church under the command of the Pope was saved.

Jesus is our Savior. We can not save ourselves. That is why Jesus had to come down from heaven and be born on Christmas day. But he can not save us unless we come to him, in the same way that the ship of the Church had to go to the Pillar of the Eucharist in order to be saved. How do we come to Jesus? We come to Jesus especially through confession and communion.

In the dream of the Two Pillars, there is also the lower pillar of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is fortunate that the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception occurs during the First Week of Advent. The Blessed Mother teaches us how to prepare ourselves for Christmas. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary was never touched by sin, not even from the first moment of her existence. Obviously, we can not imitate her in that aspect. But we can go to confession and be cleansed of our sins and make every effort of avoiding mortal sins so that when Christmas comes we can present to Jesus a heart that is ready for him.