Father Valan Arockiaswamy

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HOMILIES

Close Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Second Sunday of Advent (Year A)

Dec 8, 2019 Views 1286 Listen 17 Downloads 0
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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (11:1-10)

On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea. On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17)


(R) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever.

O God, with your judgment endow the king; and with your justice, the king's son. He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (R)

Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. (R)

According to the decree for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David. (R)

For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. (R)

May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (15:4-9)

Brothers and sisters: Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by the endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing praise to your name.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (3:1-12)

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." For I tell you, God can raise up children of Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 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 with unquenchable fire."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Hope is a familiar word to all of us. It is an inherent part of our life. We use the word "hope" almost every day in casual conversations as well as in very serious, bad situations. What is "hope"? Hope is a feeling of expectation or desire for something good and beneficial, or positive and attainable in the future. We all hope for something. We hope for big things, small things, and everyday things. The Bible has quite a lot to say about hope. In fact, hope is one of the key terms and concepts in the Bible. However, the usage of the word "hope" in the Bible is totally different from the way we use it. The Biblical hope is more than a wishful thinking, as in "I hope you will overcome the difficulties." Rather it is a strong and confident expectation or belief that God will help you out of all your life's challenges.

Saint Thomas Aquinas defines hope as "...a future good, difficult but possible to attain with the means of the Divine Assistance...on Whose help it leans." For example, there was no hope that Abraham would have children, but he "in hope believed against hope, that he would become the father of many nations, Romans (4:18).

There are more than 129 references to hope in the Bible, many of which have been used in the traditional sense of communicating one's desire of some good to God. The Book of Psalms has more references to hope, about 26 times, than any other book. Since Psalms are in the form of prayers to God, either individual or communal, they offer hope and encouragement to all those who seek Him with a desperate heart. For example, Psalm (23:3) says, "No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame."

The Book of Job is the second book with most references to hope. The book tells of a man truly "blameless and upright" but who virtually lost everything namely, his possessions, his children and his health and, who struggled to maintain a sense of hope in the face of such overwhelming suffering and adversity for a long time, Job (1:8). At the same time, he, in hope, looked beyond his earthly life to God and His reward of eternal life. Eventually, we are told that Job's friendships and fortunes were restored by God, as a reward for his faithfulness. Most of all, Job came away with a deeper sense of God's power and splendour and, a richer relationship with God far beyond what he had previously known, Job (42).

The third book with most references to hope is Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans. In actual fact, "hope" is one of the central themes of the letter. At the time of writing of the letter, Paul was probably at Corinth on his third missionary journey, Acts (20:2-3). Unlike all of Paul's other letters, this was written to a church which Paul did not establish. We do not know the origin of the church in Rome, which was comprised of both Jewish and Gentile Christians, but it existed during Paul's time. Though he had not yet been to Rome, Paul's writing to the Christians in the city appears to reveal a special interest in their well-being.

As the early church continued to develop throughout the Roman Empire, the different socio-historical and cultural backgrounds and outlooks of Christians on laws concerning food and ritual purity, sabbath observance, circumcision, etc. which served to identify Jews, were causing considerable division and unrest in the churches, including the church in Rome. Knowing that these problems would disturb the delicate harmony of the church and as well as make Christians lose hope, and even faith in the Lord, in the 14th chapter of the letter, Paul called their attention to different levels of faith existing among them and encouraged them to avoid disputes over opinions and doubtful matters and, to stop passing judgement on one another.

In the 15th chapter, Paul continued his exhortation concerning mutual forbearance in different things. What we read in today's second reading is part of the exhortation. He said, "Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." What exactly is the "Scriptures" that Paul was referring to? He knew nothing of what we now call the New Testament. He only knew the Hebrew scriptures which is known as the "Old Testament", that is, the Torah, the books of the Prophets and the Writings. These scriptures relate the story of God's relationship with His people from the earliest times and reveal God's power, faithfulness, and love.

So, Paul herein referred to these scriptures and told the Christians of Rome that these were written for their use and benefit, as much as for those to whom they were first given. He pointed out to them that these scriptures were meant to teach them "endurance" and "encouragement", so as to have hope and to survive the difficult times of life, as did their ancestors.

Paul then offered what we might call a "prayer wish". He said, "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, and that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul first addressed God as "the God of endurance" and "the God of encouragement", because God Himself has demonstrated incredible long suffering by bearing patiently with the errors and faults of His children.

He then made the prayer that this God may grant them the same mind among one another, in accordance with Christ's teachings. And so that they may also be "with one accord", that is, in "one mind, soul and passion", agree on their purpose of glorifying God and finding ways to work together with respect of each other even in the presence of differences. In other words, Paul prayed that the Christians in Rome would be unified in their purpose to glorify God altogether, as if they were all singing the same song.

Paul then gave further instruction by telling them to "welcome one another as Christ welcomed them for the glory of God", Romans (15:7). Paul made it clear here that through faith in Jesus Christ, God had shown them grace and accepted them all - Jews and Gentiles, weak and strong, slave and free, male and female, Romans (10:12); 1 Corinthians (1:10-17; 11:17-22) and Galatians (3:28). So then, just as Christ had accepted them into His family, they were also to welcome one another. By living in harmony, speaking with one voice, and welcoming one another, they may give God glory. Thus, he reminded them that their purpose as Christians was to glorify God.

Paul further explained how Christ received both Jews and Gentiles, thereby admonishing the Roman Christians to receive one another accordingly. He said, "For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." From the time of Abraham, circumcision was an outward, physical sign of the external covenant between God and the Jewish people. It was a sign of their willingness to obey God and be one of His chosen people, Genesis (17:11). At the same time, there was an extraordinary promise to Abraham that He would make him a blessing to all the families of the earth, Genesis (18:18).

So, Paul reminded the Christians in Rome that Christ came to earth with a two-fold purpose: on the one hand, with the mission to fulfil the prophecies and promises relating to the Jews, and on the other hand, with the aim of extending His grace and mercy to people outside the covenant, so that they would also rejoice and glorify God for saving them, Isaiah (52:10).

Finally, Paul ended his instruction with an allusion to Psalm (18:49) which says, "I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing praise to your name." Paul's allusion was meant to celebrate the privileges and blessings of Christ's redemption for both Jews and Gentiles as well as to encourage and affirm to the Christians in Rome that those who hope in God will never be disappointed.

What is the message for us?

  • Hope is a fundamental component of life. Hope makes a difficult situation bearable and helps us to get through it. Therefore, no matter how unfriendly or how hopeless our surrounding seems to us, we must cling to hope, especially supernatural hope: that is, to hope against the hopes of the world. We can hope even when it seems that all hope is lost. This seems indispensable in today's world when all seem so hopeless - whether it's our hope for someone fighting an addiction, or battling an illness, or struggling with some other chronic suffering. Actually, the only hope for all of us is truly the hope that God gives us. "Let us hold fast to our hope, without wavering, because He, who promised, is faithful", Hebrews (10:23).
  • When challenges, trials and tribulations come, we are so often tempted to lose hope and give up. At these times, we can look to the Old Testament scriptures. There are great passages and verses on hope to read from the Old Testament, to lift us up and to encourage us. There are many stories of God's people, both men and women, who held on to hope and God's promises and thereby claimed victories in the midst of the odds stacked up against them.

    For example, the story of Moses illustrates the powerful life-impact of faithful endurance. He had an extreme amount of patience with Israel as he led the hopeless generation through the wilderness for forty years. Job is another great example to us. His patience can serve as an inspiration to us when we face times of struggle and suffering. No matter what happens, we can follow Job's example as we patiently endure in service and worship to the Lord, remembering that our God is "full of compassion and mercy", James (5:11).

  • The first century Christians in Rome were not the only Christians to face divisions and disagreements. All Christian communities today have different groups with different opinions that sometimes threaten to cause tension, disunity and disharmony within the communities. Paul's exhortations are just as applicable to our communities and our families as they were to the Christians in Rome in his time. As believers in Christ, we should build each other up, not break each other down. Therefore, we should do everything we can to heal any divisions we may be experiencing. We should do that because we are all One in Christ and we should all be working toward the same goal - to make disciples and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ.

    We must joyfully "encourage one another to love and good works", Hebrews (10:24-25); humbly "teach and admonish one another with words of wisdom" God gives, Colossians (3:16); gently but seriously correct one another of errors on matters of faith and morals, 2 Timothy (2:23-26), such as belief in God, Hebrews (11:6), belief that we are sinners in need of God's mercy, 1 John (1:10) and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, Romans (1-3).

    And at the same time, we must show grace and avoid harsh judgements against one another over disputable matters, opinions, and expressions of faith, such as which Gospel was written first, the date of Christ's birth, and the best way to pray is standing up or sitting down or kneeling or bowing down. We can also pray for one another and gratefully "sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs", Matthew (18:19); Ephesians (6:18); James (5:16) and Colossians (3:17).

  • God is the ultimate source of encouragement and endurance. He is not merely the one to whom we will all give an account of our lives but He is also the one who will lift us up and help us to keep going, Romans (14:12). We must, therefore, pray to the Lord our God every day, to give us the ability to live in harmony with each other, just as we all live in accord with Jesus Himself.
(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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