Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of our obligation and calling as Christians to always obey and follow the Law and commandments of the Lord, which He has provided for us to help and guide us in our way of life and actions that we may always be righteous and be committed to His path, at all times. Each and every one of us should always aspire to do what God has called us to do and to understand fully what His intentions for us in our lives in this world are. Each and every one of us are called to be holy and to be filled with love, first and foremost for God, and then to love our fellow brothers and sisters with the same love, as much as we love ourselves. These are our Christian calling and duty, for us all to follow all our whole lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Tobit of the continuation of the story of how God sent His help to both Tobit and Sara, in the journey which Tobit’s son, Tobias undertook with the Archangel Raphael in disguise as a young man named Azarias. Tobias and Azarias went all the way to the city of Ecbatana in Media where Ragouel, the father of Sara and friend of Tobit, lived at. Through them, God made His plans to help both Tobit and Sara into motion, and Sara, who suffered from the attacks by the demon prince Asmodeus, who struck at all of her seven husbands, all killed by Asmodeus which made her own maidservants to gossip and accuse her falsely of misdeeds which distressed her very greatly. The coming of Tobias and the Archangel Raphael in disguise brought God’s help and assistance to Sara.

Tobias sought for Ragouel to give him the permission for Sara to be his wife, which Ragouel was rather reluctant to do because of everything that had happened in the recent past with all seven of Sara’s husbands who were all killed by the demon Asmodeus. Yet, Tobias reassured Ragouel and promised to take good care of Sara, and when Tobias and Sara were married together, they then began their married life by praying to God together, by entrusting themselves to the Lord and to His providence, and through that, the Lord moved to help them, and by His Archangel Raphael, the demon Asmodeus was defeated and bound, not to disturb or harm Sara or Tobias in any way, ever again. That is what God has done to all those who are faithful to Him, and not only that, by giving to us His only Begotten Son to be our Saviour, by dying for us on the Cross, God has shown us His ever enduring and most wonderful love.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of a teacher of the Law questioning the Lord Jesus on what was the most important commandments among all the Law and commandments of God, and the Lord answered him firmly that the whole Law and the commandments of God can indeed be summarised into two main points, and two most important fundamental action, of first of all loving God with all of our heart and with all of our might, and then at the same time, loving our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, our fellow mankind, all those whom we encounter throughout our lives and in whatever various means and opportunities, in the same way that we have loved the Lord and as we have loved ourselves. The whole Law and commandments of God as He has originally passed down and revealed to us, are indeed about these two most fundamental points.

And linking to what we have heard and discussed earlier on in the story of Tobias and Sara, we are reminded that God is truly filled with love for each and every one of us, and God is in His nature and essence is Love. He has shown us His most generous love and kindness, as He showed us His compassionate nature and mercy at all times, despite the rebelliousness and the disobedience we have often showed Him, all these time. He listened to our prayers and He knows our needs and challenges. The Lord does not want any one of us to be lost to the darkness, evil and sin, and hence, He showed His providence and love at the appropriate time, aiding all those who are facing hardships and challenges in life, and He Himself has shown us the most perfect manifestation of His love in sending us His most beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to be with us, and to touch us with His sacrifice and love, by enduring the most terrible and painful sufferings and death for our sake on His Cross.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded that as we continue to journey through our lives with love and dedication to God, we should continue to commit ourselves thoroughly and wholeheartedly at all times, loving God with all of our might and capacity, at all times and in every opportunities, entrusting ourselves to Him and being faithful to Him, remembering His love and commitment towards us. Then, at the same time, as the Lord Himself mentioned, we should also be filled with love and kindness towards our fellow brothers and sisters, love in its various forms, like the love that Tobias and Sara had for each other as loving husband and wife, and also the love we have for our parents and children, and our other family members, for our friends and all those whom we love, and also for others all around us, the compassion and love within our hearts, especially for those who are suffering and facing hardships in life.

Now, as Christians, all of us should embody this love within our lives and actions, and we should always be filled with love at all times, so that through us and our loving actions and works, more and more people may come to know of God and His love, His truth and Good News. No one will believe in us speaking of God’s Good News and truth, unless they see these things being reflected well in our own lives and actions. Worse still, if our way of life and our own actions are contrary to what the Lord has shown and taught us, and if we do not have a strong and vibrant love for the Lord and for our fellow brethren around us, then how can we call ourselves as Christians? And not only that, but all of our lack of faith and hypocrisy may even drive people further away from the Church and from the salvation in God. That is why it is important that we ourselves believe the Lord wholeheartedly and reflect our faith in our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn our hearts towards the Lord, our attention and efforts towards Him. Let us do whatever we can to glorify His Name and to serve His cause at all times. May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator, continue to guide us through our lives and help us to live them thoroughly with faith and devotion to Him, now and always, so that we may truly be shining and great beacons of our Christian faith and God’s truth. Amen.