[2013] Advent Reflection – Week of 16 Dec 2013
3rd Week of Advent
“Faith as Seeing”
Teman-teman, memasuki minggu Adven yang ke-3 ini, marilah kita meluangkan waktu sejenak merefleksikan persiapan hati, jiwa dan pikiran kita untuk menyambut Kristus yang akan datang membawa keselamatan dan kebahagiaan untuk masing-masing dari kita.
[Buka dengan tanda salib]
Opening prayer
God our Father, your promise of fullness of life is already present in our midst. Prepare us to know your Word, Christ our Lord, whom you sent to be among us. Open our hearts and minds to see the signs that point to your presence. Awaken us to the presence of your Spirit within, the same Spirit whom we received into our hearts at our baptism that helps us to know your will, and to do what pleases you. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Reflection
The gift of sight enables us to see things and happenings around us. We can make decisions based on such information. How do we know we are seeing what we see? Often, we are surprised and amazed that our eyes can deceive us. Our eyes take in information and process it in the brain to give us a perception. Sometimes, we go searching for an object, looking high and low but only to find it right under our nose. Our personal visual system decides and edits away images that do not require our attention. This mechanism is helpful but can sometimes get in our way to see things as they are.
Sharing:
1. Have you experienced not seeing something obvious right in front of you? How did you feel?
2. What do you think of our visual system that pre-judges images and makes us see the world in a particular way?
God’s Word Call To Us
Matthew 11:2-11
Mat 11:2 Di dalam penjara Yohanes mendengar tentang pekerjaan Kristus,
Mat 11:3 lalu menyuruh murid-muridnya bertanya kepada-Nya: "Engkaukah yang akan datang itu atau haruskah kami menantikan orang lain?"
Mat 11:4 Yesus menjawab mereka: "Pergilah dan katakanlah kepada Yohanes apa yang kamu dengar dan kamu lihat:
Mat 11:5 orang buta melihat, orang lumpuh berjalan, orang kusta menjadi tahir, orang tuli mendengar, orang mati dibangkitkan dan kepada orang miskin diberitakan kabar baik.
Mat 11:6 Dan berbahagialah orang yang tidak menjadi kecewa dan menolak Aku."
Mat 11:7 Setelah murid-murid Yohanes pergi, mulailah Yesus berbicara kepada orang banyak itu tentang Yohanes: "Untuk apakah kamu pergi ke padang gurun? Melihat buluh yang digoyangkan angin kian ke mari?
Mat 11:8 Atau untuk apakah kamu pergi? Melihat orang yang berpakaian halus? Orang yang berpakaian halus itu tempatnya di istana raja.
Mat 11:9 Jadi untuk apakah kamu pergi? Melihat nabi? Benar, dan Aku berkata kepadamu, bahkan lebih dari pada nabi.
Mat 11:10 Karena tentang dia ada tertulis: Lihatlah, Aku menyuruh utusan-Ku mendahului Engkau, ia akan mempersiapkan jalan-Mu di hadapan-Mu.
Mat 11:11 Aku berkata kepadamu: Sesungguhnya di antara mereka yang dilahirkan oleh perempuan tidak pernah tampil seorang yang lebih besar dari pada Yohanes Pembaptis, namun yang terkecil dalam Kerajaan Sorga lebih besar dari padanya.
Reflection cont’d
The Jewish community during the time of John the Baptist had a certain expectation of the Messiah. This expectation hindered the way they perceived Jesus. John the Baptist, although being conditioned by the same expectation, was open to something more. This opennes then allowed him to sense that Jesus could be the Messiah. It is seeing with the eyes of faith.
In the Pope’s latest encyclical, Lumen Fidei: “Hearing God’s word is accompanied by the desire to see God’s face. The hearing calls for discipleship but faith is also tied to sight” (LF 30). Believing in God allows us to have a vision beyond our own perception and truly see Jesus for who he really is God became man. It is easy, however, to lose sight of this truth, that Jesus, the Son of God became Man to love us, in the midst of our hectic modern life.
In order not to lose sight and to continue deepening our encounter with Jesus, we practice a kind of deep gazing into the depth of Christ. After the encounter, we establish a relationship with the person of Christ through prayer. The Church has a rich tradition of prayer, in a diversity of forms, expresssions and exercises. Prayer helps us to see Christ present in other people and happenings. Being close to Christ enables us to do what the Church does shine her light into the situations of our lives where there is darkness.
Sharing:
3. Think about the events that had happened today or the week before. Where do we see Jesus in those whom we encounter?
4. What can you do this week so that others see Jesus in you? Is there something you can do for a friend, a family member, a neighbour or a co-worker?
5. Which form of prayer have you adopted to deepen your relationship with Christ? How does it work for you?
Material is copied from:
Advent Reflections 2013 “Sensing Christ…”, published by Office for the New Evangelization, Singapore. www.one.org.sg
Closing Prayer
We give thanks to God. O Jesus, help us to see your power everywhere and recognize you for who you really are. Give us the grace to gain sharper vision of your kingdom, to reflect your light and be the Good News, so that others might see and believe. We ask this in your most precious name. Amen.