Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard from the Scripture passages today, we are reminded of just how imminent Holy Week is, which will begin this Sunday with Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. On this day we heard how the Lord faced a lot of opposition, rejection and persecution from those who have refused to believe in Him, as those people to whom He has shown Himself to hardened their hearts and minds against Him, thinking that they all knew it better than the Lord Himself, refusing to listen to the words of Wisdom that He has spoken. That was why despite many of them having known the Law, the words of the Prophets and the many prophecies concerning the Messiah, but they still failed to believe in Him even after they had witnessed and heard everything.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the plight of Jeremiah was again highlighted to us, showing us all the persecutions and hardships that this prophet had to endure amidst his ministry and works, as he faced a lot of opposition, rejection and hardships from those who refused to believe in him or in the words of warning that he had brought to them from God. At that time the people of Israel and their descendants had long disobeyed the Lord and rebelled against Him, refusing to follow His Law and commandments, choosing to do their own agenda and pursuit of worldly glory, betraying their Lord and God for pagan and false idols that they worshipped and offered sacrifices to.

Despite the Lord having sent to His people many servants and messengers, namely the prophets to help remind and guide them all in their paths, but those people still hardened their hearts and minds, refusing to listen to the truth and the reminders which those prophets had delivered to them. Like Jeremiah, those prophets from earlier times had been persecuted and oppressed, and not few were even killed for their efforts and ministry among the people of God. As such, God’s anger was stoked against His people, and they had to face the consequences of their many sins and evil deeds, that first of all, the northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered and destroyed by the Assyrians, and later on, during the time of the prophet Jeremiah, the southern kingdom of Judah was also under imminent threat of destruction from the Babylonians.

Yet, the people still stubbornly resisted the Lord, preferring to do as they please and trusting in the false prophets and leaders who gave them false assurances and promises, and made them to depend on earthly powers instead of on the Lord and His providence. They persecuted Jeremiah, made his life and ministry difficult, shut him out and rejecting his message, and even almost managed to kill him, if not for the help and intervention from all those who were still sympathetic to him. This is a reminder for all of us that often times, staying faithful to God and doing His will can be quite challenging and difficult for us, and we may realise that as we listen to the Lord and obey His will, we may encounter the similar kind of challenges in our path as well.

These same sufferings and hardships had been encountered by the Lord Jesus Himself, Who had to face persecution and rejection from the people whom He had come to proclaim God’s love and salvation to. As we heard in the Gospel passage today, the Lord continued facing the stubborn attitude and rejections from many among the Jewish people, particularly and likely by those who belonged to the group of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the elites of the Jewish community, many of whom refused to believe in Jesus and in the things which He had brought to the midst of the community of the people of God. They disagreed with the Lord and disapproved how He dealt and acted with those whom the Pharisees often considered as sinful and unworthy of God, like tax collectors and prostitutes, or those afflicted with diseases.

As such, they accused Him of wrongdoing and even blasphemy against God, rejecting Him and the words which He had spoken in their midst. And despite having seen and witnessed all the miracles and wonders that the prophets and messengers of God had spoken about, they still refused to believe that He is the Messiah and the One Whom God had sent to bring His people to His salvation and grace. This is why the Lord told them all of His frustrations at just how dull their thoughts and how hardened their hearts have been, that just like their ancestors had done, they continued to resist the Lord’s efforts in loving them and reaching out to them with His love and patience, shown in all sincerity and perfection through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Yet, the Lord still went all out to help them, reaching out to them and loving them, as He would show all of us in the moment of His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross. When the Lord willingly took up His Cross and carried upon Himself all the punishments, consequences and trials on our behalf, taking up all of our sins and the weight of them all to His own shoulders, He did it all not just for the righteous and the worthy, but He did it for everyone all the same. Yes, this means that the Lord suffered and died even for all those who have rejected and refused to believe in Him, and just as He had done from His Cross, He forgave all those who have persecuted Him and condemned Him to death, asking His Heavenly Father not to hold their sins against them.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all live our lives faithfully to the Lord from now on, and do our part so that our lives may ever be more worthy of the Lord, for all the love and kindness, the compassion and grace which He has always shown us all these while. Let us all be truly Christ-like in all of our every words, actions and deeds, so that through our good examples and inspirations, we may help lead many others to the Lord as well. Let our lives truly glorify the Lord, and let us make good use of the opportunities provided to us so that our Lenten journey may truly be enriching for all of us, and everyone around us. Amen.