Monday December 16, 2019
A STAR FROM JACOB
Introduction
“We want to be liberated from those illusions, frustrations, injustices and repression to which the modern world has subjected us in violation of its promises – this is what the young are saying, the disinherited, the automatons of modern technology: we want to be free persons, real persons, people rescued from hunger and from the spiral of incurable inferiority. Yes, answers the Man of people: come to me all of you who are in tribulation and I will console you. I am with you, with the power of the Spirit, not with violence and “but with passion.” Wisdom alone liberates the world.” Paul VI, Christmas Message, Dec. 25, 1970.
Opening Prayer
Lord, our God,
in a world of injustice, war and exploitation,
in which more and more people
have the means to live
but not many reasons to live for,
you promise us a star to follow,
Jesus, your Son.
God, keep in us the hope alive,
that he will come today
and that, if we are willing
to take the demands of the Gospel seriously,
we can become indeed a new people
completely renewed in him,
Christ our Savior, for ever and ever.
Reading 1: Nm 24:2-7, 15-17a
When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe,
the spirit of God came upon him,
and he gave voice to his oracle:
The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of a man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled:
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob;
your encampments, O Israel!
They are like gardens beside a stream,
like the cedars planted by the LORD.
His wells shall yield free-flowing waters,
he shall have the sea within reach;
His king shall rise higher,
and his royalty shall be exalted.
Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle:
The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of the man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled.
I see him, though not now;
I behold him, though not near:
A star shall advance from Jacob,
and a staff shall rise from Israel.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9
R. (4) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Alleluia: Ps 85:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us, LORD, your love,
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mt 21:23-27
When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
"By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John's baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?"
They discussed this among themselves and said,
"If we say 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say to us,
'Then why did you not believe him?'
But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet."
So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know."
He himself said to them,
"Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things."
Intercessions
– Lord Jesus, make your Church be a star that proclaims that you are present among your people when we love one another and have a sense of justice, we pray:
– Lord, let those who wander about without knowing where they are going discover in the Gospel something that gives meaning to their lives, above all the person of Jesus, we pray:
– Lord, as we prepare for Christmas, may you become closer and more real to us these days, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, in these signs of bread and wine,
your Son, Jesus, gives himself to us.
May we learn from him,
that we have to give up
our selfish interests and our attitudes of superiority
if we want to reshape this world
into a place where all can live in peace
and so become the sign of the higher reality
where you will be everything to all,
for ever and ever.
Prayer after Communion
Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
your Son has been with us
in this Eucharistic celebration.
May our unity here with you be the promise
of his presence among us in our life
as God-with-us.
Let him go with us all the way,
that our hope may never die,
for he is our way
to a life and a future
that will last for ever and ever.
Blessing
I see the Lord Jesus as close to us; I see him as the star of our lives. May we see him as our Savior and friend. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
In today’s reading from Numbers, the pagan seer Balaam summarizes the role of the prophet as “one who hears the word of God.” Hence, as much as he may have wanted to speak against Israel, he can only proclaim a future of harmony and peace.
In these terms, Jesus is clearly a prophet in his own time, since his career is wholly centered in the word of God. He was not self-directed, but, as he said repeatedly, he lived only to do the will of the One who sent him.
That being the case, the question raised by his opponents in today’s Gospel admits of a very simple answer. His authority is derived wholly from God for whom he is an emissary. But it was an answer that would certainly fall on deaf ears. Even though the crowds followed after him, the chief priests and elders were of a different mind-set. For them this was a man who healed on the Sabbath and did not hesitate to set aside precepts of the law. Such authority could hardly come from God.
Jesus sees the futility of a direct answer and responds by presenting his opponents with a dilemma regarding the authenticity of John the Baptist’s ministry.
There is a lesson here on duplicity and evasion of issues. If something is a matter of conviction, then we stand by it at all cost. Matters of controversy, on the other hand, admit of differing points of view. What we want to avoid at all cost is any form of subterfuge. Jesus’ question to his opponents admitted of a simple up-or-down answer. What he got was no answer at all. In the face of duplicity, Jesus refuses to speak and play into their hands.
Paul was accused of vacillation by the Corinthian community. His rebuttal is interesting (2 Cor 1). He claims that, contrary to their assertion, he is not both “yes” and “no,” any more than was Christ himself. Christ was an unequivocal “yes” to God, and such was the stance of Paul as well. Paul did not “waffle” before God or the Christian community. Like Balaam, he was one who heard what God said.
At times, we talk around issues and remain “politically correct.” To equivocate endlessly is to be spineless. Let us speak the truth in love, whether it be “yes” or “no.”
Points to Ponder
Honesty of character
Strength of conviction
Equivocation Our “yes” to God.
A Star From Jacob
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