Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 96 : 1-2, 5-6, 11-12
The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the distant islands be glad. Clouds and darkness surround Him; justice and right are His throne.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His justice, all peoples see His glory.
He sheds light upon the upright, and gladness upon the just. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are blameless, and give praise to His holy Name.
Liturgical Colour : White
1 John 1 : 1-4
This is what has been from the beginning, and what we have heard and have seen with our own eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, I mean the Word Who is Life…
The Life made Itself known, we have seen Eternal Life and we bear witness, and we are telling you of it. It was with the Father and made Himself known to us. So we tell you what we have seen and heard, that you may be in fellowship with us, and us, with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
And we write this that our joy may be complete.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded by the readings of the Scriptures yet again of the love of God, which He has shown to us through Christ His Son, Whom He had sent into the world as a sign for all of us that He loves us and wants us to be saved through Him. And because of that love, what once seemed to be impossible for us has become possible, as for the Lord nothing is impossible, and He made all possible for us who believe in Him.
Even a virgin who has not had any relations with man can bear a Child, that is Mary, bearing her Son Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man. And an old woman who was barren had born a son in her old age, as Elizabeth bore St. John the Baptist into the world, for nothing is indeed impossible for God. After all, He created all of us and all things in creation. Nothing is beyond His ability to make it done and accomplished according to His will.
But many of us acted in the manner of king Ahaz of Judah, who doubted the Lord and did not walk in His ways. Instead, he immersed himself and led his people to the wrong ways, worshipping the pagan gods and idols instead of God Who have blessed the people of Israel and their kings for many years. He refused to ask God for a sign when the prophet Isaiah asked it from him, not because he was humble or refused to test God, but rather because in his heart, he has no faith in God and no love for Him and His ways.
He might be great and powerful, and as a king he could do whatever he wished and wanted to do. But as the saying goes, with power comes great responsibility and also with power, also comes about corruption. He put so much trust and belief in his own power and greatness, that he had given in to his pride and greed, and thus, being stubborn in his ways, refusing to believe in God, and therefore bringing him and his people into the path towards destruction.
Contrast this with Mary, the virgin whom God had chosen to be the mother and bearer of His Saviour, Jesus Christ. Although she was entrusted with the glory that is beyond any other worldly glory, and given the grace and prestige beyond that of any worldly kings and rulers, she remained humble and true to her faith in God. She remained obedient and committed to God, and most importantly she fully surrendered herself to God’s will.
Let us all ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ. How many of us can count on surrendering our whole being to God? How many of us can do what Mary had done? Despite all the uncertainties she had, she fully trusted the Lord in all that He had planned for her and for the whole human race, and through her obedience all of us are saved because through her, the Salvation of this world has come into the world. Had Mary not been faithful and obedient, we would not have received the Saviour.
Remember, brethren, that mankind sinned because of the disobedience of our forefathers, from the days of Adam and Eve who disobeyed the Lord and chose to listen to their own desires twisted by the sweet lies of Satan. And therefore onwards, many more people would choose to follow the path of power, of greed and all that they have given in in the pursuit of worldly glories, wealth and power, fame and all that we mankind often crave.
Now it is really the time for us to think and to reflect. As Christians, have we lived a good Christian life as the Lord had taught us? Have we devoted ourselves, our time and our efforts to the Lord and to what He had asked us to do? Or have we instead been so focused on ourselves, so selfish as many of our predecessors had been, that we had failed to be what the Lord expected us to be?
Let us choose, brothers and sisters. Do we want to be like king Ahaz or like Mary? One path leads to destruction although it seems better and easier, while the other path leads to true joy and eternal glory even though it may seem to be more difficult. This Advent is a time for preparation for Christmas, and let us all spend good amount of time to discern carefully what we are to do from now on.
Let Mary be our example, and let her examples guide us in our faith. May the Lord help us in our endeavours, and may our faith in Him continue to grow ever stronger, that we may draw ever closer to Him and follow Him and obey Him in all of our ways. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 1 : 26-38
In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”
Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”
Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.
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.
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.”
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day what we heard from the Scripture passages spoke a very clear message to us, reminding each and every one of us that our faith cannot be kept on the basis of our words and promises alone, but must be true actions and real, genuine showcase by those same actions, showing that we are not making empty and meaningless promises without any backing by our dedication to do what we say we will do.
First of all, now let us all look into the context of the Scripture passages today from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah and from the Gospel passage. The essence of what we have just heard is truly about how the people of Israel have always looked highly upon themselves, and in pride and boasting, they have always boasted of having been the chosen people of God. Similarly, the Pharisees, elders and the teachers of the Law all have pride in themselves as those who were educated and seen as the guardians of the laws of Moses.
However, in their pride, they have become boastful and conceited, and they forgot what it truly means to become faithful disciples and followers of the Lord. They have misused their position, power and authority for the wrong and wicked purposes. And for the case of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, while outwardly they seemed to be faithful and devout, but in truth, as Jesus Himself had pointed out, they were only serving their own purposes.
As we have seen as well, the Israelites put a great pride in being the descendants of Abraham, but they were not always faithful to God, and indeed, in many occasions, they abandoned Him for the allures of the pagan gods and idols such as Baal and Asherah, succumbing to the temptations of worldliness and refusing to obey the Lord, just as they had done when they worshipped the golden calf at Mount Sinai, just after God had liberated them from Egypt with His great power.
They often looked down on the pagans and those they deemed as sinful people, those who were tax collectors, those who were afflicted with diseases and afflictions like leprosy, paralysis, and those who were possessed with evil spirits, those who were prostitutes and very poor in the society. But they themselves were sinners, just as much as those people they have despised.
And while they were all talking and preaching about repentance and following the laws of God, they did not do what they have said and preached. Instead, they did the opposite of what they were preaching. That was why in another occasion, Jesus also rebuked these people by saying that while the people of God should listen to their words, they should not imitate what they were doing.
Then this is where it comes to us all as Christians. We profess our faith in God, but do we do as what the Lord had asked us to do? Have we acted in accordance with God’s laws and commandments? Or have we instead chosen to do what we like to do and ignore or reject what we do not like to do? Have we become like those who chose what they want to do because it is convenient to them and good for their standing in the world?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians and those who believe in God, we cannot pick and choose what we want and do not want to do, but instead we have to believe completely in the entirety of God’s ways and commandments, and we have to do something about it, that is to act in accordance to those ways. If we do not do so, then we will bring about scandal to our faith, as many others had shown, those who preached and talked one thing but acted in a different way.
Who will believe us and follow our lead if we do not practice what we preach? As. Christians, it is important for us to spread the Good News of God to other people, but if we are only all talk and have no action to back these up, then no one will believe in us. Instead, what we will receive is a rebuke from the Lord much as He had rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their hypocrisy.
Perhaps we should also heed the examples of today’s great saint, the holy martyr St. Lucy or St. Lucia, a renowned Roman martyr and virgin, who died defending her honour and faith in the Lord, refusing to compromise on her beliefs and ways, rejecting wickedness and sin even in the face of suffering and death. St. Lucy was born in Syracuse in southern Italy and spent her life there during the years of the great persecution of the faithful under the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
She was born of a noble family, and vowed to remain in the state of holy virginity throughout her life. She persuaded her mother to donate much of her family’s wealth and possessions to the poor and the needy, as those who were generous and loving will receive the good graces from God. But this came to the attention of the local governor who persecuted her and forced her to offer sacrifices to the Emperor, which she refused.
And when the governor punished her to be defiled in a brothel, the soldiers sent to arrest her and bring her there were not able to move her, even when the whole company tried to pull her away. She was tortured and made to suffer greatly, but she maintained her faith and composure till the very end, and she foretold that all the persecutions of the faithful would cease soon, which did happen just a decade after her martyrdom.
Through the courage and the faith of St. Lucy, all of us should have seen how we ought to live out our lives in faith. Yes, we should devote ourselves to the Lord with true and real actions and not just with words. Let us all be charitable and be caring and loving to the poor and the needy, and be courageous to stand by our faith in God when the time and occasion rises to do so.
We should not be easily swayed by the temptations of the world, by the temptations of the flesh and of pleasure, but instead, let us all work together to become ever more devoted and good servants of our Lord in all of our words, actions and deeds. May St. Lucy be our intercessor before the Lord, praying for our sake that God will always bless us and guide us. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 21 : 28-32
At that time, Jesus went on to say, “What do you think of this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said to him, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ And the son answered, ‘I do not want to.’ But later he thought better of it and went.”
“Then the father went to his other son and gave him the same command. This son replied, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what the father wanted?” They answered, “The first.” And Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you : the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven. For John came to show you the way of goodness, and you did not believe him; but the publicans and the prostitutes did. You were witnesses of this, but you neither repented nor believed him.”
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 33 : 2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19 and 23
I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.
They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.
But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. But the Lord will redeem the life of His servants; none of those who trust in Him will be doomed.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Zephaniah 3 : 1-2, 9-13
Woe to the rebellious, the defiled, the city that oppresses. She did not pay attention to the call nor accept the correction; she did not trust YHVH nor did she approach her God.
At that time I will give truthful lips to the pagan nations that all of them may call on the Name of YHVH and serve Him with the same zeal. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia they will bring offerings to Me. On that day you will no longer be ashamed of all your deeds when you were unfaithful to Me; I will have removed from your midst the conceited and arrogant and My holy mountain will no longer be for you a pretext for boasting.
I will leave within you a poor and meek people who seek refuge in God. The remnant of Israel will not act unjustly nor will they speak falsely, nor will deceitful words be found in their mouths. They will eat and rest with none to threaten them.
