Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Tuesday of the third week of Advent, December 16, 2025

Delivered by Prishella Tjiuranda from the Parish of Saint Francis of Assisi in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Zephaniah 3: 1-2.9-13; Rs psalm 34: 2-3.6-7.17-18.19.23; Matthew 21: 28-32.SALVATION FOR ALL THE LOWLY The title for our meditation today is: Salvation forAll the Lowly. The prophet Zephaniah prophesied something that often felt theopposite of the logic of the world. He conveyed that God does not side withpride, oppressive power, or false security that man builds on his own strength.Instead, God promises to leave behind "the humble and poor remnant of thepeople," those who no longer rely on power, office, or great fame, buthope fully in God. Salvation, according to this prophecy, is born of humility,not of pride. Zephaniah emphatically reminds that arrogant andpowerful people who abuse power do not live in God's blessing. The power usedto oppress others actually distances man from the face of God. God is notimpressed by the grand outward appearance, but looks at an honest and brokenheart. Before Him, pride is a wall that hinders grace, while humility opens theway to salvation. This message is reaffirmed by Jesus Christ in Hisproclamation of the Gospel. Jesus repeatedly showed that God's Kingdom is closeto those who are oppressed, hungry, weeping, and persecuted. He said that whenlittle people cry out to God, their cries are never ignored. God is not adistant and deaf God, but a God who immediately comes to help when injustice causesman suffers. Jesus himself lived among the marginalized. He atewith tax collectors, touched the sick, and defended those who were despised. Inevery of His actions, Jesus reveals the face of God on the side of those whohave no one but God. In the eyes of the world they are despised, but in theeyes of God they are precious and loved. We can imagine a small worker whose rights are takenaway, whose voice is ignored because he has no power or relationship. When hecould only pray in silence, God worked in unexpected ways: people's hearts werechanged, the truth was revealed, and the path of justice was opened little bylittle. Not because of his strength, but because he cried out to God with anhonest, humble, hopeful heart. The salvation promised by God does not belong to thosewho feel the strongest, but to those who dare to hope in God in the midst ofweakness and difficulty. It is in this humility that God reveals His salvationto all those who are despised.Let us pray... In the name of the Father ... O Almighty God,enable us to do like Jesus Christ who is very merciful to those who are sickand suffering. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit... Inthe name of the Father ...