Friday of the Third Week in Advent
Lectionary: 191
Reading 1
Thus says the LORD:
Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
the son of man who holds to it;
Who keeps the sabbath free from profanation,
and his hand from any evildoing.
Let not the foreigner say,
when he would join himself to the LORD,
“The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.”
The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
ministering to him,
Loving the name of the LORD,
and becoming his servants–
All who keep the sabbath free from profanation
and hold to my covenant,
Them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
For my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
Others will I gather to him
besides those already gathered.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
The earth has yielded its fruits;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, Lord, bring us your peace
that we may rejoice before you with a perfect heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the Jews:
“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept testimony from a human being,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
John was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.”
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Testifying by Our Actions
The first reading tells us to “observe what is right and do what is just.” Are you in a difficult situation that makes it hard to remain holy all the time? God assures us that we must persevere in doing what’s right, “for my salvation is about to come, my justice is about to be revealed.”
Wonderful! It’s about to happen! But how does it come? How does he reveal it? — for us?
By the decisions we make.
If we believe the truth about salvation, we don’t want to mess it up by sinning. The truth is, Jesus died on the cross to set your soul free from sin, and then he gave you his Holy Spirit so that even in the most challenging of times and strongest of temptations, you can remain holy instead of succumbing to sin.
The truth is, Jesus is the Light that reveals the truth, and if we live in any darkness because we want to make moral compromises, deciding for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, we’re easily tossed to and fro on the waves of temptation. The moral relativism that is rampant in our world obscures the truth. How much is it affecting your vision of Jesus?
Although we want to have a close relationship with God, we blindly turn away from him whenever we choose to ignore the moral absolutes of the Bible or the teachings of the Church. Moral relativism — believing that everyone is entitled to their own opinions about whether something is sinful or not — fails to birth Jesus into the world. Why do we choose that? It’s not what we want, not really.
To bring light into the darkness so that we can avoid the pitfalls that cause us to sin, and to see Christ more clearly and make him more visible to others, we have to do more than just desire to live in the light of the truth. We have to work hard. We have to pay attention — with humility — to identify the ways we’re vulnerable to temptations, not to be filled with guilt, not to belittle ourselves, but to choose the better way.
We’re enslaved to sin when we remain blind to our vulnerabilities; we’re set free by the truth when we take control of our choices and travel the high moral road by imitating Christ.
Today’s Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for bringing me to know You more and for uniting myself with You. Help me to receive You with an open heart and an alert and willing spirit. Amen.
God Bless You.....
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