Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all heard from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the great love which the Lord, our loving God has for each one of us, and how He wants us all to be healed from our afflictions and hardships, the challenges and trials, all the obstacles which may come in between us and Him. All of us are reminded that God has always been kind and loving towards us, regardless of the wickedness, evils and rebelliousness of our lives and actions, which have kept many of us away from the path of the Lord, for all these time. However, too many of us are too proud and besotted by sin and evil, that we fail to realise this love and compassionate mercy which God has for all of us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Samuel of the continuation of the story of the reign of King David, which we have heard in yesterday’s passage on the rebellion of Absalom, one of David’s own sons, whose ambitions and pride led him to rebel against his own father, and attempted to seize the kingdom for himself in an attempted coup. Today’s passage told us all that this attempted coup was ultimately a failure because God was with David, while Absalom depended solely on his might and the means of the world to sustain himself. Absalom was proud and ambitious, and he sought to gain power for himself, by winning over the people and the members of the elite, and his confidence led him to his downfall and undoing.

At the Battle of Ephraim’s Wood, which was mentioned in today’s first reading passage, Absalom’s forces was routed and defeated by those who were loyal to David. Absalom himself was caught up amidst the trees while he was fleeing, and Joab, David’s army commander killed Absalom there where the latter had been trapped. Then, we heard how when the news of Absalom’s death was relayed to David, the King was beset with a great grief, and proclaimed great sorrow and mourning for Absalom. Absalom might have indeed betrayed his father, and committed a great treason and sin, but ultimately, to David, Absalom was still his son, someone whom he loved and cared for. It would not be too far to think that had Absalom survived, Absalom might have been forgiven by David.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what is significant about this turn of events is that, it actually shows us all the same kind of love and interaction which God has shown to us, His beloved ones, the ones whom He has cared for as His own beloved people and children. God has always been loving and kind towards us, and He has always desired to show His mercy and forgiveness towards us. We may have committed a lot of wicked deeds and evils in our lives, but we are still beloved by God, and while He indeed despises our sins and wickedness, but this does not change the fact that He loves each and every one of us. This was just like how David loved Absalom despite what the latter had done to him. This reminds us all of God’s love and mercy, and how we should respond to Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of two of the Lord’s famous miracles, which happened as He went to help a synagogue official whose daughter was very sick. At that time, the Lord was on His way to Jairus’ house, the synagogue official who knew Him and asked Him to heal his daughter, and as we heard, the crowd were all around Him, and it was then and there that a woman suffering from haemorrhage problem sought the Lord and got healed by her faith in Him. The woman had suffered from the condition for a rather long time, and according to the Law of God and the customs of the Jewish people, that condition would have made her to be unclean and unworthy, and hence ostracised from the community.

This explained why the woman tried to approach the Lord discreetly, and at that time, for a person to touch her, it would have made the person unclean as well. That was why the woman sought the Lord quietly, and her great faith in Him made her to believe in Him, in how just by touching the fringe of His cloak, she believed that it would make her better. She trusted in the Lord and put her faith in Him, believing in the love and kindness which God has for each and every one of us. Thus, we heard how she was healed by her faith, and the Lord also made her faith as a great example for others, and pointing out her unrelenting faith before all, that she was willing to brave through the crowd to be healed by Him.

In the same manner therefore, Jairus’ faith in the Lord and his trust in the Lord’s most amazing and enduring love allowed her daughter to return back to life, by the power and will of God, Who raised her back from the realm of the dead. That was also God’s way of telling us all that, we are all beloved and dear to Him, and He would not want for any one of us to be lost to Him, and He wants us all to be reconciled and reunited to Him, finding our way back to Him. Each and every one of us ought to heed these examples of great faith and trust in God, and be reminded of God’s great love which He has constantly showed us, as our most loving God and Father, Our Lord, Creator and Master. Have we shown Him some appreciation and thanksgiving for everything that He had done for us?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore spend some time to reflect upon our lives and see in what way that we can be better disciples and followers of the Lord, so that in all things we will grow ever stronger in faith, and that we will continue to be empowered, strengthened and encouraged to walk in the path of righteousness and virtue, in turning away from our sins, the wickedness and temptations of the world, which are easily found all around us. We must always be vigilant and careful lest those temptations and pressures bring us to our downfall and destruction. Let us all put our faith and trust always in the Lord from now on, and let us all continue to do His will and works at all times.

May God be with us all, and may He guide and empower us all in all the things we say and do, in our every good efforts and works, in all of our endeavours for the greater glory of God. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.