Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we see how the people of Israel were jealous of the fact that the other nations and peoples had their own kings and rulers to rule over them, while they themselves had no king to reign over them, but instead just a judge appointed to shepherd the people of God and the faithful.

The people were not satisfied with that arrangement, and they preferred to follow the ways of the world, not understanding that even though they had no king to rule over them, but they actually truly had a King, Who constantly cared for them and watched over them, that is the Lord their God, their King and Master. It was through the judges that He had made His will known to His people.

And in this manner, the kings of Israel were also like the judges, in that they represented the Lord in the completion and in fulfilling His will, as the regents and vicars for the Lord, not in advancing their own glory and power, but instead giving glory to God for all that He had done, and doing their best to fulfil whatever had been entrusted to them, in the guidance of the people of God towards the way of the Lord.

But, the kings of Israel often fell victim to their own human desires, greed and needs. They ended up serving their own needs first instead of serving the need of the people of God, and they, as what the prophet Samuel had warned in the first reading today, would oppress the people, demanding from them many things to satisfy their own desires and needs.

Yet, in the Gospel today, we see another King, One Who acts with justice and righteousness. Yes, He is Jesus our Lord and King, Whom we heard today, giving the paralytic man a new lease of life, by healing him from his afflictions. Despite the opposition from the chief priests, the Pharisees and the scribes, who endlessly criticised Him and tried at every opportunities to disturb His works, He continued to do the will of God.

This is to show that Jesus did not misuse His authority as many of the kings who ruled over Israel had done, as should be evident if we are to read the Book of Kings from the Old Testament. Those kings led the people to the wrong paths, serving idols and other gods, and they also acted with tyranny and injustice, just as the king Ahab showed, in how he unjustly gained the vineyard of Naboth, whom he falsely accused of blasphemy in order to get him out of the way.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, then, what is it there for us to learn from this then? It is that with power comes great responsibility, and with power comes also the risk of corruption and tyranny, that if we do not use power and authority given to us rightly, then we are all in danger of being taken in and being engrossed with whatever we have, the wealth, the power, the fame, the opportunities and many other things.

Let us all understand that all of us have been given the responsibility to live our lives and use whatever God has given us, our abilities and our strengths, to help one another and to lead one another ever closer to God. Let us help one another to find our way to the Lord, and put the needs of others ahead of our own selfishness, desires and all the things that prevent us from realising this potential inside each one of us.

May the Lord our God awaken in each one of us the spirit of love, to love one another, especially those who are less fortunate than us, and those who have wandered off into the darkness of the world. Let us all reach out to one another, and guide all of us together, as one people, that we may all in the end find our way to the salvation in our God. God bless us all. Amen.