December 14, 2020
Memorial of Saint John
of the Cross, priest and doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 187
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
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.”
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THE RISING STAR OF VICTORY
What is troubling you this Advent? What "garden" in your life is wilted or barren? What has been blocked like a dammed river? In what situation does Jesus your King need to be raised up and exalted? In other words, what are your joy-robbers?
God is promising you that, through Jesus, you will flourish like a garden that's growing near a stream. Through Jesus, your holiness will become a free-flowing river. Why? Because Jesus is the rising star (referring to his victory over death and sin) and he is the staff (or scepter) of God, which means he is king over all and has the authority to get what he wants.
This authority was challenged by the chief priests and religious elders in today's Gospel passage. But no one can ever challenge Christ's authority and win.
Take a look at the historical setting in which the story in Numbers took place. It happened near the end of the Israelites' 40-year journey through the desert. Balaam had been hired by Balak, the king of the Moabites, to defeat the Israelites by sorcery, because Balak knew he couldn't defeat them with military weapons. So Balaam set out to put a curse on them, but every time he tried, God convinced him to pronounce a blessing instead.
Balaam then warned Balak that no matter what he might try to do to conquer the Israelites, he would lose; the Israelites would be victorious because of a great king who would come in the distant future (i.e., Jesus).
This can give us great encouragement today. No matter how we might feel defeated, no matter where it might seem like we're losing a battle, Jesus is our great King who is always victorious. This is the source of our joy!
Of course, we want Jesus to come and rescue us from our troubles right now, this very moment (and we're wondering why he didn't rescue us yesterday), but his timing is always perfect, beyond our understanding. Victory is won in stages, step by step.
As we wait, we can take courage and experience the joy of Christmas by telling our troubled hearts that no matter how much it seems like we're under attack, we are victors because we live in Jesus and he lives in us.
Give to Jesus your dried up gardens and your blocked rivers. Give him everything that isn't yet under his kingship.
Jesus has the authority to get what he wants. And what does he want? He wants you to be filled with joy! He wants you to live in the victory that he already gained for you on the cross. And he wants your smile to prove to others that his victory is real.
Today's Prayer
Open my spiritual eye and ears, Lord, to know how to recognize and take advantage of Your presence in my life. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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