Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to keep our trust and faith in the Lord, our Saviour in Whom all of us have believed in, that we must always embody our faith in Him in all of our actions and ways of living our lives. Each and every one of us must continue to testify our faith in the Risen Lord, in proclaiming His Good News and salvation to everyone we encounter in our daily lives, and showing the examples of our faithful lives through our commitment and dedication to God’s path. All of us must first of all be committed to the Lord before we can expect others to follow the Lord as well. If our own lives and actions do not adhere to the truth of God and if we wander off from His path, then how can we expect others to believe in the Lord as well? Worse still, if we scandalise our faith and the Lord, we may keep others away from God and His salvation.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Paul the Apostle during one of his missionary journeys to the cities in Asia Minor was visiting the Jewish community in Pisidia, and in their synagogue he taught them about the events that happened surrounding the Lord Jesus’ life and ministry and how He had been persecuted by the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, by the members of the Jewish High Council or the Sanhedrin, who arrested Him and handed Him to the Roman authorities, crucified to death. St. Paul spoke courageously to the Jewish community there, revealing the identity and truth about this Messiah or Saviour, Who in truth was not just a mere Man or Prophet, but was in fact the Son of God incarnate in the flesh, by Whose coming and by Whose actions He had redeemed all the whole world.

Some of the Jews there in the diaspora community were receptive of the message and embraced the Lord and His truth, becoming some of the members of the early Christian community while some others were not so receptive. St. Paul received good response in some occasions while in others, he did not have such a good response, and was rejected by the Jewish community, persecuted and opposed. In Pisidia, St. Paul received a generally warm welcome from the community and quite a few of the people believed in Christ through what the Apostle had told them. St. Paul was taking a great risk in proclaiming the Risen Lord among the Jewish community, given that the Jewish authorities had specifically ordered that the disciples of the Lord must not teach in the Name of the Risen Lord.

Nonetheless, St. Paul remained firm in his conviction and commitment to proclaim the Lord and His truth despite the challenges and tribulations that he had to face amidst his mission. He did not allow all those things to keep him from doing what is best in accordance to the mission entrusted to him. The Lord guided, helped and strengthened St. Paul throughout his journeys and efforts, so that despite the oppositions and threats he encountered, all the failures and obstacles he faced, he continued enduring them all and moving onward nonetheless, showing many others the inspiration and good example in how one ought to live their lives as good and committed Christians, in proclaiming God’s love, truth and Good News through their actions, words and deeds.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the words of the Lord Jesus Himself, reassuring His disciples and followers that He is and will always be with them, regardless everything that may happen to them and all the sufferings and trials that they may have to endure amidst their ministry and works. The Lord has reassured all of them that He has prepared the path forward for them, and He was preparing the way for them, for the eternal and true glory with Him, referring to the ultimate triumph and victory which they shall all enjoy with Him at the end of time. Despite all the trials and hardships that they themselves would have to endure just as the Lord Himself had suffered, the Lord would always be with His faithful ones, and with His beloved Church, the sheep of His flock.

The Lord has sent out all of His disciples and followers, and that includes all of us, His beloved people, to be His missionaries and servants, to proclaim His truth and Good News to the whole entire world. He has entrusted to us this very important mission so that more and more people may be saved and brought out from the depth of darkness and damnation, which His light and grace alone can provide. If we ignore and abandon our responsibilities and works, and all the opportunities which the Lord had provided to us, then many people may end up remaining lost and separated from the Lord. All of us have been entrusted with this responsibility to help our fellow brothers and sisters to find their way to the Lord, our loving God and Creator.

Therefore, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded that as the disciples and followers of Our Lord and God, we must always strive to do our best in all things, to commit everything we do to the Lord, and to be the shining beacons of His light and truth, to allow His light to shine in us, and that our lives may be the bright shining examples for everyone around us, that through us, the Light of God may help many others to overcome the darkness present in this world, which threaten to lead us into our downfall and destruction. However, if we always strive to do what is according to God’s will and path, and resist the temptations of sin and evil, we will be able to find the way out of the darkness and into the Light of God.

May the Risen Lord continue to help us in our path and journey as faithful and dedicated Christians. Let us all not be afraid to proclaim Him faithfully in our lives, doing our best to live our lives each day that we may help more and more souls to come ever closer towards the Lord. May He empower and strengthen us all to be able to persevere and endure the challenges and trials in our lives and path. May He bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.