Reach Out
Dec. 15: Friday of the Second Week of Advent
In Advent, we anticipate the coming of the Lord. But we shouldn’t just sit on our hands! We’ve got to reach out to Him, as well.
Speaking of, our parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, will be saying a mass for Amelia on Friday the 15th, at 6:30am. (Right around the time most of you will be reading this.) Say a little prayer for her in union with the mass, won’t you?
Reading 1
Is 48:17-19
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; Your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, Their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence.
God reaches out to us, first. Everything begins with God. But He also asks us to reach towards Him, as well. We can’t just let Him drag us to where He wants us to go; we have to follow Him, hearken to His commandments.
The commandments aren’t just rules for us to follow; they’re for our own good. Our lives, the lives of others, the whole of society would be better if we’d follow God’s law.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R. (see John 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Today’s Responsorial Psalm combines the first Psalm with a line from John’s Gospel. They fit together neatly, when we take the Holy Trinity into account. Following God’s law in the Old Testament is the same as following Jesus in the New. Either way, they are for our benefit.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord will come; go out to meet him!
He is the prince of peace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
As with the first reading, we’re not meant to be passive Christians. We are supposed to actively seek Him out.
Gospel
Mt 11:16-19
Jesus said to the crowds: "To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by her works."
Some people are always looking for fault in others.1 When John the Baptist fasted, they complained that he wouldn’t celebrate; when Jesus drank with his friends, they complained that he didn’t mourn.
The fact is, everyone honors and praises God in their own way, to some degree. Just like sin is personal,2 so is praise. If you’re an introvert, calm reflection comes naturally to you; group worship may be something you have to make an effort to do. For an extrovert, the opposite is true—you’re happy participating in mass and public ministries, but have trouble sitting quietly with God.
So, when we see someone worshipping in a way we’re not comfortable with, we shouldn’t judge. Instead, we should celebrate their participation in God’s work, and maybe even try to learn something from them.
And if we’re honest, it’s probably all of us, at least some of the time.
For example, it might be totally fine for you to have a couple of drinks after dinner, it’s imprudent for a serious alcoholic to even have a sip, if it tempts them to greater sin.