A few years ago, I was invited to do a week-long workshop to help build the youth ministry of Feast Jakarta in Indonesia. It was an all-expense paid trip, and they even gave me a speaker’s fee.

On the first day of the workshop, before I started my first talk, a thought came to me. Who am I to teach these kids? I don’t deserve the kindness they showed me. I’m a nobody.

I thought of my past and how sinful I was. When I was in youth ministry, I was drunk almost every day and lived not as a Christ follower. How hypocritical of me to teach about building a youth ministry!

But God spoke to me and said, “Well, do you remember how I saved you from your past? Remember how you didn’t do it by your strength alone? You made it because I dwell inside you. It’s the same here. You cannot do this relying on yourself.

You can only do this with Me.” With God’s assurance, I gave that workshop with all I had. 

Nico Narvaez (joelnicolocnarvaez@gmail.com)

Reflect

We may be weak, but with Christ who strengthens us, we become strong. The same God Who created the universe dwells inside us. 

Father, I draw my strength from You. Because without You, I am nothing. I receive Your love. Thank You, Lord.

St. Paul of Latos, pray for us.

Today’s reading is a reflection on the wonder of seeing the glory of the Lord. Moses covers his face in the presence of the Lord, and the people only get to see God’s shadow as He passes by. Such is the respect that the Jews had for God. They would not call Him by His name; instead, they read “Ha Shem” whenever the text for the name of God appears in the Scriptures.

² When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him, ³ and he gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true, ⁴ 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: ⁵ How goodly are your tents, O Jacob; your encampments, O Israel! ⁶ They are like gardens beside a stream, like the cedars planted by the Lord. ⁷ 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. ¹⁵ Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true, ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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 | Psalm 25:4-5, 6, 7, 8-9

R: Teach me your ways, O Lord.

⁴ Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, ⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. (R) ⁶ Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your kindness are from of old. ⁷ In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord. (R) ⁸ Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. 9 He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 21:23-27

Jesus is not going to be put off by bullies, and neither should we. If we know that our stance on a moral issue is correct because we follow the Church’s teaching, then we should stand firm against anyone who tells us otherwise. The world’s sense of morality is weak and guided by emotions or feelings. We live by the truth of what God intends for His creation. This may be hard to do, but it is the only way to eternal life.

Gospel Acclamation

Show us, Lord, your love, and grant us your salvation.

²³ 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?” ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ 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?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ 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.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read ECCLESIASTES 9 - 12 today.

A pupil asked his teacher: “Ma’am, would you punish me for something I didn’t do?” The teacher replied, “Of course not.” The pupil continued, “That’s great, because I didn’t do my homework.” Students don’t usually like doing their homework. They resent it when they are given assignments.

In today’s Gospel, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached Jesus like unhappy students resenting the presence of their teacher. “On what authority do You do these things? Who has given You power?” Jesus refused to answer their questions directly because they did not ask the right questions. He was teaching in the temple not by the strength of authority or power, though He obviously had both.

Advent invites us to ponder this mystery of a God who could have directed the world by the sheer strength of power and authority but did not. The deep mystery of Christmas is the mystery of a God who became Man in order to show humanity how to live his own humanity. The deep mystery of Christmas is the mystery of a God who did not imperiously order, “Go!” but instead invited, “Let’s go!” Isn’t that the mystery behind the name “Emmanuel”—the God who is with us? The deep mystery of Christmas is the mystery of a God whose way is not to impose but to propose. And there lies the paradox. Before someone who does not wish to impose through sheer power and authority, I do not mind to be imposed upon; I can willingly surrender.

Now, we understand the docility expressed in today’s Responsorial Psalm: “Teach me Your ways, O Lord.” God’s ways are not cold, whimsical instructions from a distant God. Jesus taught nothing in the Scriptures that He himself did not experience or practice. That is why He became “the God who is with us.”

Fr. Joel Jason

Reflection question

Consider the commandments in the Scriptures. Do you see God as a dictator or a companion?

Your laws, O Lord, give joy to the heart. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ________________________________________