FULFILLER OF PROMISES
1st Sunday of Advent
Have you heard of the latest scam
that again duped thousands of our countrymen? Very ordinary people are now
crying their hearts out to recover their precious savings. Many people nowadays succumb easily
into scams. Why? Because people are entranced by
promises a better economic and social life. I too was once scammed by glib,
attractive proposals of a person I hardly knew and who later appeared as a
seasoned deceiver.
We hold on to promises when we
find ourselves walking through the dark. Promises become irresistible as we try
to wriggle our way out of difficult situations of poverty, indebtedness, shame
or desperation. Promises become so
tempting to believe when we are most in need of hope.
But as the saying goes, some “promises
are meant to be broken”. And when
they are indeed broken, this results in shattered dreams and broken
hearts. Look at the sadness of
spouses whose marital vows to each other were disregarded. Look at friends whose loyalty to each
other was supplanted by greed and selfishness. Look at the poor who trusted in
powerful people who pretended to care for them but merely used them. In the midst of all these, who can we
still trust? Who can still give us real hope?
Advent comes to us as an
assurance that there is One whose promises are ture, sincere and
heartfelt. I was touched by the
moving words of the first reading, Jeremiah 33: “I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel
and Judah.” God wills to give his
people safety and security. The
people can be assured that God is on their side.
God does not give false hopes and
his promises are not empty promises. He provides reliable hope and sincere
promises. We have a local saying we use to reinforce our promises: Itaga mo pa sa bato! (inscribe it in
stone!). But God does not have to
make use of stones to illustrate his good will. It is enough that he speaks,
for when he does, his words are followed by actions.
But how do we obtain what God
promised? The second reading
reminds us that there is a corresponding responsibility for one who receives
the promises of the Lord. We must be faithful to God as well. Paul exhorts the Thessalonians: as you receive from us, so you must
conduct yourselves in a way that pleases God. The receiver of the promise must also prove to be worthy of
the promise. We cannot treat the
promises of God lightly; we must be challenged by it to a life in accord with
his will.
In the gospel, Jesus makes a
promise that he will return and as Christians we hold on to his words. One day, he will come to rescue us from
the fear, the pain, the boredom and tiredness of daily toil in this earth. But we can experience this promise of
salvation and deliverance only if we are vigilant and active in receiving him
in our hearts. As our hearts turn
to the message of Christmas, let us thank our God, fulfiller of promises and
beg him to make us worthy of the promises of Christ.
