HOMILIES

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!

Third Sunday of Advent (Year A)

Dec 15, 2019

728

Listen Read

First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (35:1-6a, 10)

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lamp leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.

Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.

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

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10)

(R) Lord, come and save us.

The Lord God keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets captives free. (R)

The Lord gives sight to the blind; the Lord raises up those who were bowed down. The Lord loves the just; the Lord protects strangers. (R)

The fatherless and the widow he sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts. The Lord shall reign forever; your God, O Zion, through all generations. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint James (5:7-10)

Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

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

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (11:2-11)

When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" Jesus said to them in reply, "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. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."

As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; He will prepare your way before you. 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."

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

Homily

When we are kids, waiting is perhaps the hardest part of life. Parents might know this better than anyone else. An example is being on a road trip when, either because we are excited about the destination or because we are simply bored, we would just keep asking, "Are we nearly there yet?" Waiting for special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas, New Year or other events seems to take forever when we are small. As we grow up, waiting is still hard. Many of us dislike waiting, whether it is waiting for a train or food or waiting in line at grocery stores or banks. We do not like to be kept waiting for someone, regardless of whether the person is our parent or sibling or friend.

Oftentimes, we wonder why we have to wait for everything. Can't we just get all the things instantly? Yes, it seems impossible. Sometimes, no matter how much faster we want something to happen, all we can do is wait. It is hard enough waiting for something that we want, but to wait for something that has been promised or that which we believe we deserve is much harder. It is even harder to wait on the promises of God, especially when there are no guarantees that our waiting will ever end in this lifetime; when we have no idea what and when God will fulfil His promises. More often than not, waiting can make us hopeless, angry, frustrated and disappointed. But today's second reading from the Letter of Saint James instructs us to wait upon God and not to lose heart.

The Letter of James is recognized as the oldest book of the New Testament, written perhaps as early as 45 A.D. by a man named James, the son of Alphaeus and the relative of Jesus but known as the brother and the apostle of the Lord, Matthew (13:55) and Mark (6:3) and the leader of the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem, Galatians (2:9) and Acts (12:17; 15:13-21). Though the letter is considered a "general" letter to all the early Christians, it was addressed to "the twelve tribes of Israel" or the first Jewish Christians, who were scattered outside Palestine upon the persecution that arose after the martyrdom of Stephen, James (1:1) and Acts (1:8; 11:19).

Today's passage is a part of the instruction in which James encouraged the Christians to wait with patience for a special event. Early Christians, including apostles James, Paul and others, had been expecting Jesus' imminent return for a long time, which of course did not occur even within their life time. But they were becoming impatient because of many difficulties and hardships on many fronts. First of all, the churches were splintered by quarrels and conflicts, largely as a result of envy, pride, greed, and fraud, James (1:14-15; 1:19-20; 3:14-16; 4:6-7 and 5:1-6). Many believers were amassing wealth by oppressing and defrauding their fellow believers - a practice strictly forbidden in the Old Testament, Leviticus (19:13) and Deuteronomy (24:15). While the rich were oblivious of the problems of the poor, the poor were envious of the rich. On the whole, their practices were inconsistent with having faith in Christ and they were living as if Christ were never coming back.

Secondly, many believers were experiencing persecution for their faith at the hands of fellow Jews. They were being expelled from their communities and synagogues by those opposing Jesus' messiahship.

Thirdly, many Christians were being arrested, tortured, mutilated, burned, starved, and put to death for their refusal to worship the Roman gods or take part in sacrifices, which was expected of those living in the Roman empire.

It was under these circumstances that James, as one of the chief leaders in the church at Jerusalem, wrote to encourage the scattered Jewish followers of Jesus in the diaspora to live as Christians should and bear witness to Christ through their heroic lives, without waiting for the return of Christ in their lifetime.

He wrote, "Be patient until the coming of the Lord", James (5:7a). What is patience? Patience is defined as the ability to endure waiting, delay, provocation, misfortune, or pain, without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly, especially when faced with difficult circumstances. As someone said, "Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting." A biblical scholar defines patience as "a long-protracted restraint of the soul from yielding to passion." Another scholar describes it as "self-restraint, which does not hastily retaliate a wrong." It can therefore be said that James was exhorting the believers who were suffering, to exercise restraint over the tendency for revenge until the Lord's intervention in their situations. In other words, they were to live patiently with those who wronged them with the realization that Jesus could come back any day.

James then used the imagery of ancient farmers in Israel who, after sowing the seeds, waited patiently for the planting season's "early" rain, which helped the seeds to sprout and to grow, and for the "latter rain", which helped plants to mature before harvesting, James (5:7b). This analogy was used to teach them that, like the farmers, they must also patiently preach the gospel and nurture one another, whilst believing that salvation would eventually come. And then James gave three additional instructions about what they must do.

He exhorted them to "make" their "hearts firm", Matthew (5:8). In other words, as they waited patiently for the Lord to return, he wanted them to stand firm in their adherence to the faith, in the midst of temptations and trials. Just as Jesus was resolute and determined to go to Jerusalem, although He knew He faced death when He arrived there, Luke (9:51), James wanted the Christians to be resolute, firm and courageous in their commitment to following Jesus, no matter how severe the trials were and with their hope for Christ's return at the end.
He admonished them not to "complain about one another", so that they would "not be judged", James (5:9a). Though some translations of the Bible use "grumble" or "murmur" instead of "complain", the phenomenon is essentially the same. Simply put, "complaining" or "grumbling" is an expression of negative feeling to something that is unpleasant, or inconvenient, or hard, in a low or, half articulated voice.

Grumbling did not start with the early Christians. The Bible records many examples of complaining to God. It has been one of the human traits since the time of creation. For instance, in the Garden of Eden when God asked Adam what happened, Adam blamed Eve for his sin, complaining to God, saying that the woman God had given to be with him gave him fruit from the tree, and he ate it, Genesis (3:12). The implication was if God had not given her to him, he would not have sinned. Here, instead of blaming himself, he blamed her and God. During their desert wanderings, the Israelites grumbled against Moses, Aaron and God and wished they had stayed in Egypt, Exodus (14:10-14; 15:22-25; 16:1-4, 13-15 and 17:1-7); Numbers (11:1-15, 31-35; 14:1-45; 16:12-14; 20:2-13 and 21:4-9).

The Pharisees and the scribes often grumbled at Jesus' teachings and his association with the tax collectors and sinners, Luke (5:30; 15:2) and Matthew (9:11). In a similar way, the early Christians were also complaining about one another. They had forgotten the fact that at their conversion they were adopted into God's family through Jesus Christ and continued to behave in ways that were contrary to the nature of God's children, Galatians (3:26). That is why James appealed to them to act like the family of God. Besides, he also reminded them that the Lord Jesus is the True Judge standing at the door and that when He comes, He will not only judge their persecutors and enemies but also judge them, if they failed to be patient. This meant that, whatever judgement they would make on others, is the same judgment God would use on them.
James encouraged them to "take as an example of hardship and patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord", James (5:10). Although James did not elaborate on this, the Jewish Christians might have well understood this simple reference. All the Old Testament prophets remained faithful to deliver God's message through the difficult circumstances of their own lives. Many of the prophets were persecuted and killed. For instance, the historians tell us that prophet Isaiah was sawed into two under the evil king Manasseh of Judah, 2 Kings (21:16). Prophet Jeremiah complained to God, sounding a lot like Job, even accused God of deceiving him and asked Him several times to wreak vengeance against his enemies. And yet, he held steady and waited on the Lord till the end. Eventually, he was stoned to death by his own people, Jeremiah (38:1-6).

Prophet Amos was tortured severely by Amaziah, the priest from Bethel against whom Amos had prophesied. He was also mortally wounded with a club by Amaziah's son, Amos (7:10-13). So, we see that, even when their outward circumstances caused them to complain against and doubt God, these prophets had remained faithful to what they were called to do. And James alluded to these prophets, to urge the persecuted Christians in his time to exercise patience as they waited for, and looked forward to, the coming of the Lord.

What is the message for us?

The period of waiting is perhaps one of the most difficult parts of the Christian life. Especially, when you feel so desperate for God to intervene in a situation in life, waiting is so hard and, at times, can even test your faith. But in these times, whether it be that your sickness is not getting healed or the new job is not coming as expected or your relationship with someone is not working or a sin that you are struggling to overcome, you must not give up your hope and your faith in God. You must be like the farmer who waits patiently for the harvest and does not grumble, continue to stand and remain in faith that God will deliver you from your troubles and turn your present situation into an enjoyable one. For the Scriptures say that those who will wait on the Lord through faith will not be disappointed or let down or put to shame, Isaiah (54:4); Psalm (25:3) and Romans (10:11).
Suffering is a normal part of life. Especially, as Christians, we should expect some suffering. Everyone who is walking for Christ and seeking to live a godly life will be persecuted. And therefore, we should expect it and not be surprised when painful trials come on our way. We do not need to be surprised as though something strange is happening to us. James's exhortation to the early Christians is a reminder to us that we can expect to suffer for Christ, but we can also expect joy to come through that suffering.
When we are wronged and ostracized by our own families; when we are falsely accused at work and even get fired; or when our friends betray us and spread vicious gossips to others, we do not have to throw the blame on them for our troubles or God for the evils of the world. Especially during this season of waiting, we must refrain from grumbling against one another and judging one another. Instead, we should heed the admonition of the apostle James by following the examples of the prophets through being patient in our suffering and putting our hope and trust in God. It is easier to be patient in the midst of trials and tribulations in life when we believe that God is with us. And as we endure the hardships, let us comfort one another with James's reminder: "Be patient; strengthen your hearts" and know for certain that "the Lord is full of compassion."

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

Content Options

to download the audio file Sign In » or Register ».
generate Google Translate Layout ».
share this homily via:

Top of Page

More Homilies this Month

Use the Prev or Next buttons to read or listen to the other homilies of the month.

« Prev Second Sunday of Advent (Year A) Next » Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year A)