Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, what we can take away from what the Lord had said to the people who followed Him, is the very fact that Christ is the bringer of truth, and as the One Who revealed to the world, everything as it is deemed true and good by God, but which the world had failed to understand. It may be hard for us to accept the truth, but if we are to become true disciples of Christ, and therefore as true Christians, then we must learn to accept it.

We may find our path and our ways to be wrong, all that we have believed in thus far to be wrong, because what Jesus brought to us through His words, are the words of truth, dispelling the lies and all the darkness that the devil and his allies had been placing in this world in order to deceive us and to turn us away from our Lord and from His salvation.

The people found it hard to believe in the truth that Jesus had said, because they themselves for a long time had been accustomed to the ways where they were not chastised or rebuked for any of their wrongdoings. In fact, these were encouraged if not tolerated. And they used to think of everything as in accordance to their own human understanding and intellect, dismissing all those that seemed to be foreign and alien to their understanding.

But this is what Jesus precisely brought to them, shattering their presumptions and their sense of self-righteousness, and bringing to them the truth, as difficult and as painful it is to bear the truth in them. That is why many of them wavered, and many of them in the end refused to believe and left Jesus and His teachings behind, continuing their lives as it had been before.

God called on them and they refused to believe, but there were those who were willing to listen, and there were those who were even trying to do as what the Lord had told them to do, as difficult as it was for them. The Apostles themselves were trying very hard in their own efforts, and many times they failed and faltered. And Judas, one who was counted among them, betrayed Jesus in the end, simply because he was unable to detach himself from all the falsehoods and the temptations of the world, and thus chose the world and sin instead of choosing the Lord and His ways.

Brethren, it is a call for us all to reflect on ourselves and on our own actions in life. It is time for us to recall our actions and whatever we have done, all the things which we have done, on whether these are in tune with what the Lord had taught us, or whether we have done things our own way, refusing to follow what the Lord had taught us.

It is not enough for us to be Christians to be just paying lip service to God, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have to be proactive and committed in serving Him in all of our ways. We cannot profess to be faithful to God, and yet we in our actions show it as otherwise, as this will show our hypocrisy, and how our faith is not a genuine one.

And it is not just that, brethren, as if we call ourselves Christians, and yet our actions show otherwise, by our selfishness, and by our lack of love, care and concern for our brethren around us, who are in need of our love and compassion, then how will people believe in us if we call them to become followers of Christ too? We should be bearers of truth, not just in mere words, but also through our real and concrete actions.

Let us therefore use this opportunity to reiterate our commitment to serve the Lord with all of our heart and give our best effort to Him, and from now on, let us no longer be divided in our actions and in our deeds, that everything we say and do from now on, should be in accordance to what God has taught us. May God help us and strengthen us in our faith, so that we may always be faithful to Him, and no longer be swayed by the falsehoods of the world.

May God help us in our endeavours, so that we may always walk in His path and persevere through all the challenges and even the suffering that may come our way if we stay faithful to Him. God be with us all. Amen.