💖 HOMILY - DECEMBER 22 💖

First Reading : 1 Samuel 1:24-28

Gospel : Luke 1:46-56

We never see poverty as blessing. We always want to overcome poverty. On the contrary, the striking phrase that we can cull from the Scriptures is 'God favours the lowly, the poor and the deprived'. This predilection for the poor, the marginalized and the underprivileged fill them with gratitude and humility. The readings of the day invite us to reflect upon the virtue of humility and gratitude that issue from poverty and lowliness of life. 

The first reading gives a touching story of the mother of Samuel. She expresses her gratitude to God for inclining His ears to her prayers and having compassion for her lowliness. As a sign of her gratitude and promise, she offers her son to God.

In the gospel, the touching story of the mother of Samuel pairs with Mary’s rejoicing over the favours shown to her. Mary’s Magnificat sums up the themes of the gospel. It is full of gratitude and praise to the God of mercy. This had been revealed on Sinai as the meaning of the sacred name of God when God passed before Moses crying, ‘The Lord, the Lord, God of mercy and compassion, rich in kindness and faithfulness’ (Exodus 34.6), a designation which echoes countless times through the scriptures. And yet at the same time the song is full of tender reverence for the holiness of God, taking its tone also from Isaiah’s vision of the Lord in the Temple, when the Temple is filled with his glory and Isaiah can feel only his own unworthiness (Isaiah 6). God is so close and yet so distant.

Mary’s song is redolent of God’s special love for the hungry and the powerless. This is apparent in all the Gospels, but especially in Luke, who is writing to remind a richer audience of their obligations. He stresses the poverty of the surroundings of Jesus’ birth, of the shepherds who first come to reverence him, the baby’s own refugee status. His beatitudes focus not (as Matthew’s) on Christian attitudes and motivations, but on the grinding poverty of those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. He remains constantly aware of the dangers of wealth (parables of the Rich Fool, or the Rich Man and Lazarus) and the reversal of standards in God’s evaluations.

My dear friends, God's standard varies from the standard of the world. The poor are not accursed but are the most favoured and loved by God. Poverty, misery and lowliness etc. are not punishment but a chance to become more humble to turn to God. The misery of the mother of Samuel is mitigated due to her humble prayer to God. The humility of blessed mother is exalted by her 'yes' to become the mother of God. The virtue of humility come from realization of our nothingness before God. The material poverty or difficulty makes us humble to take resort to God who is capable of doing everything. It does not mean that riches or wealth is bad but they must not puff us but make us grateful to God, for everything comes from God. May God grant us the gift of humility to acknowledge His greatness in our lives and virtue of gratitude to render all praise and glory to Him.