December 13th

December 13, 2022
Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Advent
Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr
Readings: Zep 3:1-2, 9-13/Mt 21:28-32 (188)
Julian Ohizu: Campus
In today’s reflection, as we continue to progress through the Advent season,
each one of us are reminded of the dangers of our human pride and ego, which can
indeed become our undoing unless we make the conscious effort to resist that
strong allure and temptations to succumb to our pride, ego, arrogance, ambition,
and desires. This Advent, all of us are reminded that our true focus and the right
center of our lives and existences should be that of the Lord, our most loving God
and Creator. We should not allow our personal ambitions, desires and especially
pride and ego to be stumbling blocks in our path towards the Lord as unfortunately
has often been the case. Many people, our predecessors, throughout history, have
fallen prey to the trap of their own greed and ego, and fell away from the path
towards God’s grace and eternal life.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah, we
hear of the Lord speaking to His people through Zephaniah regarding the
rebelliousness of the people of Israel, and all the wickedness which they had
committed in the past, and how God therefore had punished all those who were
wicked and unjust, and gave the inheritance and gifts, graces and blessings
intended for those people to the ones who were more deserving and worthy. That is
why God gave a premonition to His people, revealing to them how He would
gather all those who are willing to listen to Him and answer His call, and unite
them together as one people, to be God’s own beloved flock, where God exists at
the center and focus of their lives and existences, instead of pride and worldly
desires and greed.
Zephaniah reminds all of them, the prophet reminds you and I, that the time
of consolation and liberation is coming to their midst, and God will gather not just
the people of Israel only, but also everyone from all throughout the world,
everyone who were willing to embrace God and His righteous path, His truth, His
love, and grace. But this ‘gathering” of the people comes with a prize. The prize is
that we must, therefore, denounce our wicked ways and disobedience of God and
acknowledge our short comings, listen to God’s call for reconciliation. Last week’s
Advent Recollection is a true testament of showing how we can turn back to God
and make him part of our life both as individuals and as a school community. But it
does not stop there. This call to repentance is a continuous work in progress all
through our life and especially this Advent season.

Those who pridefully kept their wicked ways and disobeys God, seeking to
advance and satisfy their own worldly desires will not have any part with God in
that “gathering”, while all those who are willing to acknowledge their
shortcomings, and listen to the Lord and His call, will be given the assurance of
God’s grace and salvation. Moreover, that is the same sentiment that we hear from
our Gospel passage today. We hear from there of the Lord’s speaking to the people
and His disciples using the parable of the two sons, in which He uses the example
of those two sons to contrast those who listen to God and those who refuses to
listen to Him.
In the parable for today’s Gospel, we hear the Lord Jesus echo the same
sentiment of calling his disciples to humble repentance, which is the opposite of
the hypocrites, that is the Pharisees who say one thing and do another. These
hypocrites give in to their ego, pride, and desires, and end up forsaking their
obligations and commitments to the Lord and to their neighbor. The Gospel tells us
that such a practice attracts rebuke form the Lord.
It is then important therefore, for us as we pass through this day and through
the Advent season, to reflect on how we can turn our lives around and respond to
the Lord’s call to repentance, humility, love, and commitment. All of us ought to
be reminded today of the courage and faith showed by St. Lucy, her commitment
to God and her resistance of worldly temptations of glory, pleasures, wealth and
more. May we therefore, commit ourselves to the same cause and do our very best
to resist the temptations of our pride, ego, greed, and worldly desires, all those
things that can lead us to our ruin and damnation. May we make good use of this
time and opportunity given to us this Advent to turn back towards God and to be
reconciled with Him, and to grow ever closer to Him in love. May God be with us
always, and may He strengthen us all in love, now and forevermore. Amen.