Dec 13 2024

First reading Isaiah 48:17-19

If you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river

Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you,

I lead you in the way that you must go.

If only you had been alert to my commandments,

your happiness would have been like a river,

your integrity like the waves of the sea.

Your children would have been numbered like the sand,

your descendants as many as its grains.

Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.

Responsorial Psalm 1:1-4,6

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.
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.
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.
Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Gospel Matthew 11:16-19

hey heed neither John nor the Son of Man

Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:

“We played the pipes for you,

and you wouldn’t dance;

we sang dirges,

and you wouldn’t be mourners.”

‘For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’

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Attune to God’s presence

In today’s gospel, Jesus likened the people around Him to children in the marketplace. These children called out to their friends, urging them to join in their games. Yet, no matter the music, be it happy tunes or sad melodies, the other children remained unmoved. Jesus’ contemporaries were like these indifferent children. They regarded the melody played by John the Baptist as too austere. They saw Jesus eating and drinking, and they found his tune to be too celebratory. They were unable to recognise God’s presence in both John the Baptist and Jesus.

In this Advent season, let us remain open to recognising God in both the joyful and sorrowful moments of life, including ways that may not match our expectations. Let us pray today, “Come, Lord Jesus”, and be aware that He is with us in various circumstances of our lives. By doing so, we can walk alongside God and become a life-giving presence for others.

Reflective question:
How can I open myself to recognize God in the various moments of today?

Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.