OXYGEN

10 Dec
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Isaiah 41:13-20

I, the Lord, your God,
I am holding you by the right hand;
I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid,
I will help you.’

Do not be afraid, Jacob, poor worm,
Israel, puny mite.
I will help you 0 it is the Lord who speaks -
the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.

See, I turn you into a threshing-sled,
new, with doubled teeth;
you shall thresh and crush the mountains,
and turn the hills of chaff.

You shall winnow them and the wind will blow them away,
the gale will scatter them.
But you yourself will rejoice in the Lord,
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The poor and the needy ask for water, and there is none,
their tongue is parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them,
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

I will make rivers well up on barren heights,
and fountains in the midst of valleys;
turn the wilderness into a lake,
and dry ground into waterspring.

In the wilderness, I will put cedar trees,
acacias, myrtles, olives.
In the desert I will plant juniper,
plane tree and cypress side by side;

so that men may see and know, may all observe and understand
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
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Matthew 11:11-15

Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. Since John the Baptist came, up to his present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm. Because it was towards John that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were leading; and he, if you will believe me, is the Elihah who was to return. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!’
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I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen.

What is true humility? It is often equated with shying away from compliments. In order not to appear arrogant, often people would deny that they possess those praiseworthy qualities. This lack of boastfulness is not really what humility is about. For an answer, we can look to St. John the Baptist.

Throughout his entire ministry, John was preparing the way for the arrival of another man – in his own words, one whose sandals he is not fit to untie. Before Jesus appeared on the scene, John must have gathered quite a huge following to himself. People were asking if he were the Messiah, but he firmly denied it. I wonder if he felt tempted to please the people and gain some glory for himself.

When it became apparent that Jesus was the one he was waiting for, he joyfully stepped back, directing all his followers to Christ. I wonder if, with his followers gone, he felt that he had lost his power and influence. All his life, John pointed others to Jesus. This was an act of true humility.

When we recognize how small we are, when we take the attention off ourselves and look to God, we will actually find more freedom and peace.

For example, I am someone who can get quite affected by what others say about me. Sometimes a casual remark or two can leave me brooding over it for the entire day. But I find that when I make the effort to keep my focus on God and not on my own emotions and insecurities, then those remarks from others become insignificant and I cease to dwell on them.

Another way is to utter the words of John the Baptist – “He must increase, I must decrease.” Let us all follow John’s example of humility.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Edith Koh)
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Prayer: We pray for the grace to be delivered from our selfish desires, and to point others to Jesus.

Thanksgiving: Thank You, Lord, for the examples of selfless love in our midst.

Upcoming Readings:
Thu, 10 Dec – Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15
Fri, 11 Dec – Isaiah 48:17-19; Matthew 11:16-19; Memorial for Damascus I, Pope
Sat, 12 Dec – Zechariah 2:14-17; Luke 1:26-38; Memorial for Our Lady of Guadalupe
Sun, 13 Dec – Zephaniah 3:14-18; Philippians 4:4-7; Matthew 11:16-19; Third Sunday of Advent