FIRST READING
Isaiah 7:10–14; 8:10
The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us!”
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 40:7–8a, 8b–9, 10, 11 (8a, 9a)
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not; then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, To do your will, O God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart; your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of; I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth in the vast assembly.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
SECOND READING
Hebrews 10:4–10
Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats takes away sins. For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”
First Christ says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.
ALLELUIA
John 1:14ab
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us; and we saw his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Luke 1:26–38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
REFLECTIONS:
Are you ready to be changed and transformed in Christlike
holiness? God never withholds his grace from us. His steadfast love and
mercy is new every day (Lamentations 3:22-23). Through the gift and grace
of the Holy Spirit we can be changed and made new in Christ. He can set
us free from our unruly desires and passions. Jesus never lost an opportunity
to bring freedom to those oppressed by sin and guilt. His frequent association
with sinners, however, upset the sensibilities of the religious leaders.
When a woman caught in adultery was brought to them for trial, they confronted
Jesus on the issue of retribution. Jewish law treated adultery as a serious
crime since it violated God’s ordinance and wreaked havoc on the stability
of marriage and family life. It was one of the three gravest sins punishable
by death.
This incident tells us a great deal about Jesus’ attitude to the sinner.
The scribes and Pharisees wanted to entrap Jesus with the religious and
civil authorities. That is why they brought a woman caught in adultery
before Jesus. Jesus turned the challenge towards his accusers. In effect
he said: Go ahead and stone her! But let the man who is without sin be
the first to cast a stone. The Lord leaves the matter to their own consciences.
When the adulterous woman is left alone with Jesus, he both expresses mercy
and he strongly exhorts her to not sin again. The scribes wished to condemn,
Jesus wished to forgive and to restore the sinner to health. His challenge
involved a choice – either go back to your former way of sin and death
or to reach out to the new way of life and happiness with him. Jesus gave
her pardon and a new start on life. God’s grace enables us to confront
our sin for what it is – unfaithfulness to God, and to turn back to God
with a repentant heart and a thankful spirit for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Do you know the joy of repentance and a clean conscience?
“God our Father, we find it difficult to come to you, because our knowledge
of you is imperfect. In our ignorance we have imagined you to be our enemy;
we have wrongly thought that you take pleasure in punishing our sins; and
we have foolishly conceived you to be a tyrant over human life. But since
Jesus came among us, he has shown that you are loving, that you are on
our side against all that stunts life, and that our resentment against
you was groundless. So we come to you, asking you to forgive our past ignorance,
and wanting to know more and more of you and your forgiving love, through
Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Prayer of Saint Augustine)
No comments:
Post a Comment