3rd Week of Advent
23rd December 2023 (Saturday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 3
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4; 4:5-6 (Malachi 3:1-4; 23-24)
Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."
Psalm 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14 (R. see Luke 21:28)
R/. Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 1:57-66
The time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, "No; he shall be called John." And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name." And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbours. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Highlight: God’s ways beyond human logic!
Guidlines: Very many times we may not be able to grasp the will and ways of God. They can be disconcerting and upsetting in the sight of the world. But God has His own ways and all of them are purposeful{alertSuccess}
1. In the gospel, we have the dramatic scene of the birth of John the Baptist. His birth is a concrete example of how God acts graciously but often beyond human comprehension and logic. Elizabeth was barren for many years. But God grants her a son in her old age.
2. Already while in the womb, he encounters his master at Mary’s visitation. His father Zechariah remains mute till his son’s birth, as a sign of the fulfillment of God’s grace. At his birth, his speech is restored and he blesses God.
3. Unlike the custom, John the Baptist was not named after his father but a totally different name. It was clearly the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that both Elizabeth and Zechariah suggested the name of ‘John’.
4. John the Baptist was named ‘John’ which means “Yahweh is gracious”. True to his name, God has always been gracious to Him. That is why the gospel attests, “the hand of the Lord was with him”.
5. The words of Micah in the first reading very much apply to him. John the Baptist is that messenger of the Lord sent before him to prepare the way for the Lord. He is the messenger of the covenant in whom the people delight.
6. He is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like silver and gold, till they present the right offerings to the Lord, that will be pleasing to him.
7. He is the Elijah, the prophet sent before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Our vocation is exactly like the vocation of John the Baptist. All of us are called to be messengers of the Lord to prepare the ways before him.
Practice: Person and community are two separate and exclusive entities. One affects and changes the other. Good people make a good community. And a good community helps to make good persons{alertSuccess}