Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded by the passages from the Sacred Scriptures that we must not allow ourselves to be swayed by worldly temptations and desires, and we must remind ourselves that each and every one of us, we are all God’s people, His beloved children and disciples, all called to His Presence and to follow Him wholeheartedly. There should be no place in us and our hearts and minds for ego, ambition, pride, jealousy, greed and all those things which often led us to be divided against each other, and to hate and despise one another instead of loving them as God has told us all to do in our lives. As Christians, all of us should make good use of the lives and the opportunities presented to us so that we may indeed live our lives worthily as those whom God has been calling into His path.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Judges in which the story of the power struggle involving the sons and descendants of the Judge Gideon was highlighted to us. Back then, Gideon had many children from his wife and concubines, at a time when this was still a common practice among the people of Israel. As the judge and ruler of the Israelites, Gideon had gained great prestige and power for his family members, which led to the conflict after Gideon’s death. In this case, Abimelech, one of the sons of Gideon, desired power and glory, and persuaded his relatives in the town of Shechem to support him in his vile plan in seizing power for himself, by gathering and slaughtering all of his own brothers and relatives from his father Gideon, all the other seventy of his brothers, with only one, named Jotham, managed to escape the slaughter.

It was this same Jotham which spoke up in Shechem against their decision to support and raise Abimelech over themselves as their king, highlighting how they had made a terrible decision in doing so, in their choice of a wicked man as their ruler, by using the comparison to a story, in which he highlighted four distinct trees, namely the olive tree, the fig tree, the grape vines and lastly the bramble bush, which the other trees were looking to make into a king over themselves. All the first three trees, which were all very good and useful, in producing olive oil, fig fruits, grape juice and wine, declined to do so, preferring to continue in their own humble role in providing for the needs of others and their fruitfulness. Instead, it is the useless and harmful bramble bushes that agreed to be king over all those trees, in which we must understand that the brambles tend to choke the life out of the other plants, and lived well upon the destruction of other plants.

This serves to highlight just how by choosing and raising Abimelech to be their own king, the people of Shechem had allowed that man’s ambition, greed and ego to become even worse, as later shown by his actions in carrying out wars and conflicts, in attacking his neighbours and others, with the most likely aim of enlarging his dominion and increasing his power and wealth. Such wicked man should not have been allowed to gain such power and position, especially after Abimelech had carried out such wicked deeds as the killing of his brothers had shown us, and Jotham’s words reminded all of us as well that worldly glory, fame and all the temptations of this world can indeed be really dangerous and evil, and if we are not careful, we may end up falling into the trap of those worldly desires and ambitions, and are therefore kept away from God and His grace.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples using the parable of the vineyard workers, in which those whom the owner of the vineyard called and gathered to work in his vineyard, all were rewarded equally and fairly, and that owner kept on going to find out more and more people to work in his vineyard right up to the last hour. Through this parable, the Lord wanted to show us how He Himself, represented by that vineyard owner, seeks for us all to follow Him and to be His disciples and servants, in walking down His path and in following His examples. All of us are those whom the master of the vineyard had called and gathered to work in his vineyard, while the reward that he has promised and fulfilled, is the gift of eternal life and glory that He has assured us all through His Son.

That is why, when those workers who have been called earlier grumbled and complained to the vineyard owner on why they were paid the same as those who have started their work on the last hour, the vineyard owner told them that all those who work for him would gain the same reward as agreed. This is a reminder for us that we must not have the thinking and attitude that we are better than others simply because we are perhaps more religious, pious, committed or dedicated to God, and not because we have somehow received His truth, Good News and grace sooner. All of us are equally beloved by God and we are all equally important in the eyes of the Lord. If we follow the Lord because we seek glory and greatness for ourselves, then I am afraid that we have lost the essence and meaning of what it truly means for us to be Christians, that is as disciples and followers of the Lord.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Rose of Lima, well-known for being the very first saint to be canonised from the Americas, from the New World. Her great piety, dedication to God and emphasis on her purity and worthy life to God should inspire all of us in living our own lives more worthily and in doing God’s will at all times. Each and every one of us should heed the examples shown by St. Rose of Lima that we may live worthily of the Lord in our own ways, in labouring for the field of the Lord just as heard in our Gospel passage today. St. Rose of Lima was born as Isabel Flores de Oliva in the city of Lima, during the time of the Spanish rule there, in what is now the capital of Peru. She was born of mixed heritage between her Spanish descent father and her mother’s mixed Spanish and indigenous descent.

At that time, St. Rose of Lima grew up to be a very beautiful woman, who therefore had a lot of suitors and a lot of those who sought to get married to her. But St. Rose of Lima, who had grown strong in her dedication to the Lord and in her determination to dedicate herself as a holy virgin, she continued to resist all those advances, even against the opposition of her own family and friends. She led a very dedicated and holy life, and spent her time in prayer and in caring for those who were less fortunate around her. She resisted her suitors by cutting off her own hair and rubbing pepper on her beautiful face. And she was also renowned for wearing a heavy silver crown crafted in the form of the Crown of Thorns that Christ had worn during His Passion and crucifixion. She suffered physically because those thorns, but she used them to remind herself to get rid of physical distractions and temptations in life, and in keeping the holy path that she had devoted herself to.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of St. Rose of Lima, her piety and dedication to God, her humility and efforts in resisting the temptations of the world, coupled with what we all have heard in our Scripture passages today should serve as inspiration and motivation for all of us to lead a truly holy and dedicated life free from the corruption of sin in our own lives in this world. Are we able to resist the temptations of sin and evil, and do what God has commanded and taught us to do, brothers and sisters? Or are we going to follow the path that all those who have given in to their human desires and temptations, like that of Abimelech, whose misdeeds and wickedness, pride and ambition eventually led to his ultimate downfall and infamy? Abimelech died in humiliation, killed by a rock thrown down by a woman during one of his wars, forever remembered as a usurper and kinslayer. On the other hand, St. Rose of Lima was remembered well for her great love for God and for her exemplary life and virtues.

Can we be the inspiration for others instead, in how we faithfully live our lives from now on, so that others may come to believe in God through us and be more motivated to follow Him, just as St. Rose of Lima had done to us? May God be with us always and may He empower each and every one of us with the strength and courage to walk ever more faithfully in His Presence, now and always, forevermore. Amen.