December 14, Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
Daily Readings: Numbers 24: 2-7, 15-17a & Matthew 21:28-32
Today's Gospel gives us the message that the important thing is to carry out the will of God in our daily lives. Saying just YES is not enough. Our YES should be translated into our Action. "It is not those who just say, Lord, Lord who will enter the Kingdom…." Faith without works is dead. (James 2:20).
Many religious leaders who think that they are the followers of God's ways refuse to believe in John the Baptist and Jesus Himself. But people who were known to be profoundly sinful and violators of the Law and the tax collectors and prostitutes were adherents to the message of John to repentance. They changed their way and received the Baptism from John. When Jesus came, the religious leaders refused to accept Jesus as God is working in Him. But huge crowds follow after Jesus.
The religious leaders are like the son who says YES but does not follow their words. The sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes repented and changed their ways and found their ways into the Kingdom.
It is helpful for our reflection on our lives. Just our outward observance and simply practicing our faith is not enough. We might spend a lot of time praying in the Church but not doing much outside of our prayer or outside of the Church. We all have said YES to God on the day of our Baptism, but can we say that we are always doing what is pleasing to God?
St John of the Cross is a true son who said YES and brought his YES to Perfection.
In marriage life, in religious life, in priestly life, in different services in different institutions, we all have our own YES and all are called to bring it to fulfillment. For attaining this goal, helping, supporting and praying for one another is necessary. According to the saying, we are not the island; since our life depends on each other, let us never lose sight of fulfilling our YES, which is proof of our love for God and our neighbors.
May the Advent and Christmas Season inspire us to be the followers of the Lord in words that correspond to our deeds.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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