Sundays of Advent

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Sunday, 22 December 2013 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters, today we enter into the last Sunday of Advent, the fourth one of all. We celebrate today the theme of love, after we had celebrated the themes of hope, peace, and joy. For indeed, these are all the things we rejoice and celebrate for in Christmas. And the most important of all, is love. That is because there will be no Christmas without love, and the greatest love is the love that God has for all of us.

For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only Son, that we who believe in Him shall not die nor suffer the effects of death, but receive life eternal in that Son. This well-known and well-read passage from the Gospel of John chapter three verse sixteen is that proof of the everlasting love and the ultimate form of love that God had shown us, and which was made manifest this Christmas.

Christmas is not just about Christmas lights, decorations, and about gifts. Christmas is not just about promotions, new goods, shopping opportunities, and something on the same line as those. Christmas is not the day preceding the Boxing Day if we think it in the terms of the gifts that we will receive and benefit from. Instead, indeed, it is all about love, about sharing the love that God had for all of us, and share it with one another in love.

Without love, our lives will not be perfect nor fulfilling. And without love, we will not have hope, peace, and joy. Love lies at the centre of our lives and is the centre of our faith. Our faith must always be based on love, because we believe in God, who is Love Himself. God is Love, and He cannot withhold His love for us, and that was why He wanted to be with us, and for us to be with Him.

Emmanuel, God is with us, is one of the many titles that Jesus Christ our Lord has. And His very presence in this world, as the Divine incarnate to the flesh of mortals, is a true example of this love. For as the omnipotent and all powerful God, eternal and limitless, God has no need for any worries or concerns because He has everything, and everything in creation belongs to Him. Yet, He concerned Himself with us, seeking our welfare and well-being.

Without this divine love, we would certainly have no hope whatsoever. Life will be meaningless and death will truly be fearsome. That is why the Lord came to us, to be with us, and to dwell with us, in Jesus Christ His Son. In Jesus lies all of our hope, and in Him we find true love, and this love is the joy of Christmas, the true joy that we should be celebrating.

So, brothers and sisters in Christ, do we come together to celebrate Christmas because we like to revel in the festivities and the partying, in all the merrymaking? Do we enjoy and look forward to Christmas because of the gifts we are to get from our friends and families? Do we look forward to Christmas because it is a time for us to travel around as it is the holiday period?

If our answers to these questions are yes, then we have missed the true intention of Christmas and the true joy of Christmas. That is precisely the problem with our modern world, where Christmas has been extensively and thoroughly transformed into a commercial property. Christmas is no longer about Christ, after which it was named for. Christmas which was about the birth of Christ, had become the fascination on Santa Claus, gift elves and all the pagan fantasies that mankind had indulged themselves in, submitting to the temptations of the world.

Every time we celebrate Christmas, we should always remember that it is about Christ, about the wondrous birth of Christ our Lord and Saviour, and about the perfect manifestation of love that God our Father showed us. He showed us all His favour, by choosing to be born of the Virgin Mary, to become one of us, and to be the lowest among us, born in a poor and dirty stable even though He was destined to be a King.

So are we ready now to celebrate the coming of Christ this Christmas? We have to bring Christ into Christmas, or otherwise our celebrations will be meaningless. Invoke Christ as we rejoice with one another, and use this opportunity to share our blessings and graces with those who have less. As people often said, that Christmas is a season of giving, but we must not limit this giving just to among ourselves and our own circle of friends.

Share the love of God this Christmas, and proclaim the joy of His coming to everyone. As we welcome Christ into our world, let us also welcome Him into our hearts, and share this Love incarnate, Christ Himself, with everyone we encountered, especially those who lack the sweetness of love.

May the Lord our God continue to bless us with love, that we will grow to love one another, and love Him more and more. May our Christmas be bountiful, peaceful, and be filled with love and joy, not for ourselves, but for the glory of God and the glory of all of God’s people! Amen.

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Sunday, 22 December 2013 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 1 : 18-24

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her. While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet : ‘The virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and He will be called Emmanuel, which means : God-with-us.’

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.

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Sunday, 22 December 2013 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Romans 1 : 1-7

From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an apostle called and set apart for God’s Good News, the very promises He foretold through His prophets in the Sacred Scriptures, regarding His Son, who was born in the flesh a descendant of David, and has been recognised as the Son of God endowed with Power, upon rising from the dead through the Holy Spirit.

Through Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for the sake of His Name, we received grace and mission in all the nations, for them to accept the faith. All of you, the elected of Christ, are part of them, you, the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy : May God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace.

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Sunday, 22 December 2013 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Sunday, 22 December 2013 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 7 : 10-14

Once again YHVH addressed Ahaz, “Ask for a sign from YHVH, your God, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven.”

But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask, I will not put YHVH to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Now listen, descendants of David. Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my God? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign : ‘The Virgin is with child and bears a Son and calls His Name Immanuel.'”

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Sunday, 15 December 2013 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today is Gaudete Sunday, or Joyful Sunday, where ‘Gaude’ or ‘Joy’ is the spirit of the day. We celebrate today, even as we anticipate the coming of Christ in this Advent season, the joy of the coming of Christ Himself. That is why, if you see the priests and the colour used today in the liturgy is rose, to signify this joy, the joy of the coming of the Messiah.

And today’s readings rightly reflect this nature of joy. That all creation ought to rejoice at the coming of Christ into the world. The world was in darkness and yet light has come into it, and made everything illuminated once again in the light of God. Jesus came and during His ministry in this world, He performed many miracles, healing the sick, touching the lepers, curing them, and making the lame walk, making the blind see once again.

You can just imagine the joy that these people experience, as their afflictions were removed by the power of God. For many of us, who are well endowed with excellent health and good life, it may not be easy for us to imagine the joy that these people experienced. Yet, let us take some time to think, to reflect, and to appreciate what we have around us, all of which are the gifts and graces of God.

We have beautiful environment around us, the wondrous mountains and valleys, rivers, lakes, and seas, the beauty of flowers and plants, the shining glory of the sun, the marvel of the moon and stars at night, and many other wonders of God’s creations in this world. We can enjoy all these, because we have normal and healthy vision, good eyes with which we can see all of these wonders and marvel at them.

Yet, what if our sight was taken from us? What if we could no longer see? The light that we see around us will be no more, and everything will be dark, truly dark. Imagine the suffering of those who had been born blind. They do not know what is light, because they never see light. They have known only darkness all their lives, and they do not know what are mountains, flowers, moon, stars, and others, because what they knew of them, is only what has been told to them, but they cannot directly know what they actually look like.

When Jesus opened their eyes, and light for the first time poured into them, imagine the joy experienced by those whose sight were restored. They could see again, and could marvel at God’s creations around them, seeing things they have never seen before. God did not leave them in darkness, and neither did He leave those who suffer in their suffering. Through Christ they were renewed and given new life of glory in Him.

How is this then relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Precisely because we too are people afflicted, with illness. We may think that we are free from any afflictions, illnesses and defects, because externally and scientifically we are clean from any physical defects, but in fact all of us has a defect in us. A very serious and dangerous defect indeed. A defect that if we do not correct it, will drag us into eternal suffering, one that is without end.

Yes, I think all of you somehow have gotten what I am trying to say. We are all afflicted with sin, the evil of sin. Ever since mankind rebelled and disobeyed the will and the laws of the Lord, we have ever been imperfect, tainted with the defect of sin within each one of us. Sin has afflicted us, and we are ill with it. The Lord came to heal all, including all of us. And the greatest of His healing came about when He took up His final mission, lifted up on the cross with all of our sins that He bore upon Himself.

Healing us from our sinful afflictions is the greatest joy that we can ever enjoy, and this is what Christ came into our world for, His divine mission, to fulfill the long-planned salvation that God had prepared for all of us. That is also the true message of Christmas, that is the joy in the coming of the One, who took it upon Himself to be born as one of us, and to eventually be the One who brought true joy, through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

Today is Gaudete Sunday, as we rejoice in the joy of the expectation of the coming of Jesus our Lord. This is why even though in this Advent season, where we are in a state of subdued celebration, in a preparation period before Christmas, this Sunday, the colour used is rose instead of the usual purple or violet, to signify this joy of Christmas, the joy in Christ that we celebrate.

What is this joy of Christmas that I had mentioned? This is not the joy of the secular Christmas celebrations that we have outside, in our malls and shopping centres. The joy of Christmas is not about the parties and revelries that accompany it. The joy of Christmas is not about the feast and the meal that we usually have on Christmas, with our family members. The joy of Christmas is not about buying new clothes and exchanging gifts. Neither does Christmas mean Christmas trees and Santa Claus for sure!

The joyous occasions and events that I had mentioned above are part of our celebrations, our human way to show our gladness and happiness for the true joy of Christmas. And yes, that true joy of Christmas, is about Christ. It is all about Christ and none other. The Lord who came into this world as a baby, and the same Lord who would give His own life for us, to heal us, and bring us into eternal glory, is the true joy of Christmas.

Therefore brothers and sisters, as we approach even closer to Christmas, to the celebration of the coming of our Lord, have we made Christ to be truly at the centre of our celebrations? Have we made Him as the focus of our joy this Christmas? If we have done so, then well done. It means that we have gotten what it means to celebrate the joy of Christmas, and it means that the true joy of all joy, will be ours. God bless us all with a wonderful Christmas joy. Amen!

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Sunday, 15 December 2013 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)

Matthew 11 : 2-11

When John the Baptist heard in prison about the activities of Christ, he sent a message by his disciples, asking Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus answered them, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see : the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and Good News is reaching the poor; and how fortunate is the one who does not take offense at Me!”

As the messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John : “When you went out to the desert, what did you expect to see? A reed swept by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? People who wear fine clothes live in palaces. What did you really go out to see? A prophet? Yes, indeed, and even more than a prophet. He is the man of whom Scripture says : ‘I send My messenger ahead of You to prepare the way before You.'”

“I tell you this : no one greater than John the Baptist has come forward from among the sons of women, and yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

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Sunday, 15 December 2013 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)

James 5 : 7-10

Be patient then, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. See how the sower waits for the precious fruits of the earth, looking forward patiently to the autumn and spring rains. You also be patient and do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Beloved, do not fight among yourselves and you will not be judged. See, the Judge is already at the door. Take for yourselves, as an example of patience, the suffering of the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s Name.

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Sunday, 15 December 2013 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)

Psalm 145 : 7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

The Lord gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord protects the stranger.

The Lord sustains the widow and the orphan. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever, your God, o Zion, from generation to generation. Alleluia!

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Sunday, 15 December 2013 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Gaudete Sunday)

Isaiah 35 : 1-6a, 10

Let the wilderness and the arid land rejoice, the desert be glad and blossom. Covered with flowers, it sings and shouts with joy, adorned with the splendour of Lebanon, the magnificence of Carmel and Sharon. They, my people, see the glory of YHVH, the majesty of our God.

Give vigour to weary hands and strength to enfeebled knees. Say to those who are afraid : “Have courage, do not fear. See, your God comes, demanding justice. He is the God who rewards, the God who comes to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed. Then will the lame leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing and shout.

For the ransomed of YHVH will return : with everlasting joy upon their heads, they will come to Zion singing, gladness and joy marching with them, while sorrow and sighing flee away.