Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we are approaching fast to the closing and the end of the liturgical year in November, we are reminded to be prepared and to be ready for the coming of the Lord and His judgment that awaits each and every one of us at the date and time of His own choosing. And we do not know when this time will come for us, as only the Lord alone knows it.

Through the readings which we received and heard today, we are also reminded that we have been sundered from the Lord because of our sins and iniquities, all the things that prevented us from being able to be reconciled and reunited with God. And unless we are reconciled with our God, we have no hope in us, and we are in a great danger for eternal damnation.

And the way for us to achieve this reconciliation is just as what our Lord Jesus mentioned, that is by seeking to make peace with God, and to be absolved and be freed from what had made us to be lacking that peace of God in the first place. And this requires us to seek true and genuine repentance for our sins and wickedness. It means that we must learn to change our ways and adopt what the Lord had shown us, His ways and precepts.

In the first reading today, St. Paul in his letter to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus mentioned how through baptism we have been made members of the Church, and be made into one body, the members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and be freed from our past sinful ways, and be brought into a new life, namely a life blessed and graced by the righteousness of God.

And therefore, all of us Christians, who have been washed anew by the holy water of our baptism, have passed on from the chains of slavery of sin, just as the Israelites have walked through the sea from their slavery in Egypt, and into liberation in God, Who brought them and guided them through the desert into the lands promised to them and to their ancestors.

But perhaps from that experience and history, we can also learn several things that we ourselves need to take note of in our own lives today. Firstly, the people of Israel, despite having been liberated from their slavery, they were easily tempted and in many occasions, they complained and even openly rebelled against God and His servant Moses, comparing how their lives in Egypt had been far better than living in the desert, although God cared for them day and night.

It is a lesson for us, that as we live our lives in this world, today, it is easy for us to get distracted and to be tempted by the many persuasions and temptations that the devil and his forces arrayed against us, the people of God. It is a reminder for us that as Christians, we cannot be lukewarm in our faith, but instead, we must be active and be truly devoted to God via our actions, words and deeds.

And this is what is meant by true reconciliation, where we cast away our sinfulness, our past rebelliousness and resistance against God, and instead learn to live with faith, with a new commitment for our God, be true Christians in our way of life, and not just be a Christian on paper alone. And surely, God Who sees our actions made with genuine faith in Him will reward us and bless us, and we will be made righteous and just, worthy of Him and His salvation.

May the Lord bless us all and grant us strength to persevere on in this life, filled with zeal and devotion, to do what He has asked of us and more. May the Lord bless all of our endeavours. Amen.