The new document just released today by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity titled ‘The Bishop of Rome – Primacy and Synodality in the Ecumenical Dialogues and in the Responses to the Encyclical Ut Unum Sint’
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today through the readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded what each and every one of us must do as Christians, as those who believe in the Lord and belong to Him. All of us have been shown both the actions of the wicked people in the first reading today, and then we have also been told of the actions and way of life which the Lord had called us all as Christians to do in our own lives. If our lives are not in accordance to the path which the Lord has shown us, then how can we call ourselves as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people.
In our first reading today, we heard from the first Book of Kings of Israel and Judah in which the story of the wickedness of king Ahab of Israel was told to us, in how king Ahab treated the man named Naboth, who owned a vineyard at the land which Ahab desired for himself, and we heard how king Ahab, spurred on by his own wife, queen Jezebel, plotted against Naboth and managed to seize his property after having made false accusations against the man, and this led to Naboth being condemned to death for something that he was innocent and blameless for, and such was the wickedness of mankind, as exemplified by the actions of Ahab and Jezebel.
This is why God sent Elijah to Ahab, warning and reminding him of the wickedness of his actions, through which he had led the people ever deeper into the path of evil and sin. God does not want any one of us to be lost to Him through the darkness and wickedness of this world, through the many temptations present all around us. We must always be vigilant and be ready to resist all the things which may result in us losing sight and focus on the Lord’s path, and end up giving in to the temptations of our pride, ego and desires as Ahab had experienced. He allowed his ego and desires to give in to the temptations and thus, leading him to carry out the wicked deed as he had done to Naboth.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord told His disciples about what is expected for them all as His followers and disciples, in how each and every one of them should not oppose evil with evil, quoting the examples from the old Jewish customs and laws, which prescribed equivalent consequence and punishment as a just consequence and result of an evil action committed by a person, summarised as ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘tooth for a tooth’. If we understand the reason why such harsh laws and practices were included in the old Jewish laws and customs, that was because of the stubbornness of the people of Israel, who often disobeyed the Lord and allowed themselves to be tempted by worldly desires into sin.
That was not what the Lord actually wanted from His people, but those laws and rules were put in place initially because it was meant as a deterrence for them to keep away from all sorts of wickedness and evils, from doing what the Lord had told them not to do. What He wants to tell them and expects them to do is that He wants all of them to be just, holy, good and loving just He has been doing all of that, and He wants to show them, lead them and teach them to do what is right, and not to allow the evils and temptations of this world to mislead them down the wrong path which may lead to eternal damnation and total separation from Him.
This is why, today, we are reminded that as Christians, as God’s followers and holy people, all of us are called to be loving, compassionate and forgiving, and to do whatever we can for the good of others, to go the ‘extra mile’ in loving and caring for one another if necessary. This is what Christian charity and love is all about, and what we are all reminded of, so that each and every one of us strive to resist the temptations of this world, the temptations of sin and evil, and at the same time also strive to do whatever is good, holy, worthy and just, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, all of us will be truly good and worthy of the Lord our God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are therefore reminded today to recall our Christian calling and missions in life. Each and every one of us have to contribute to the good efforts and works of the Church of God, which the Lord had entrusted to all of us, in the evangelisation of the whole world, of all the people whom we have been sent to, so that by our exemplary way of life, actions, words and deeds, we may inspire more and more of the people around us to follow our examples and to have faith in the Lord as well. Unless we ourselves have done as the Lord had told us to, and live our lives sincerely in the manner that all of us as Christians had been expected to live, then we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians, and we cannot inspire others to follow our path.
May the Lord continue to strengthen us all in our ways, and may He empower us all in our every efforts, in our every contributions and deeds, so that by our every actions in life, we may continue to glorify the Lord and that we may always proclaim Him, His truth and love all throughout our whole lives, now and always, in our every words, actions and deeds, in how we interact with one another, with our fellow brothers and sisters. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 5 : 38-42
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard, that it was said : An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you this : do not oppose evil with evil; if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other. If someone sues you in court for your shirt, give him your coat as well.”
“If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give when asked, and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to borrow from you.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 5 : 2-3, 5-6, 7
O YHVH, listen to my words and hear my complaint, give heed to my sighs, my King and my God.
You are not a God Who delights in wickedness; evil has no place in You. The arrogant cannot stand before You. You hate all who do evil.
You destroy all who speak falsehood, who thirst for blood and live on lies; all of them YHVH detests.
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Kings 21 : 1-16
Now Naboth, a man from Jezreel, owned a vineyard just beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. Ahab asked Naboth, “Give me your vineyard which is near my house that I may use it for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you its price.”
But Naboth said to Ahab, “YHVH forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” So Ahab went home angry and sad because of what Naboth had told him, that he would not give him the inheritance of his fathers. So he lay down on his bed with his face turned toward the wall and refused to eat.”
His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so angry that you refuse to eat?” He answered, “I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and asked him to sell me his vineyard or to exchange it for another one in exchange; but he answered : I will not give you my vineyard.”
His wife Jezebel said to him, “Are you not king of Israel? Get up and eat and be joyful, for I will give you the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel.” So Jezebel wrote letters using Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and important persons living near Naboth. This is what she wrote in the letters : “Declare a fast and put Naboth on trial. Get two scoundrels to accuse him in this way : ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
The people, the elders and the important persons who lived in his city did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters she sent to them. They declared a fast and put Naboth on trial. The two worthless fellows came in and sat facing him, accusing Naboth before the people, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So the people took him outside the city and stoned him to death. They then sent word to Jezebel that Naboth had been stoned and was dead.
As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she told Ahab, “Now take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the man of Jezreel who refused to sell it to you, for Naboth is now dead.” As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went down to the vineyard of Naboth and took possession of it.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are called to live faithfully in the Lord and to commit ourselves to the path which the Lord has shown to us so that we may truly bear rich fruits of our Christian faith. Each and every one of us are reminded that as Christians, our lives cannot be idle and devoid of virtues and good deeds, for if we do not live our lives as Christians should live, then we may end up scandalising our faith and our Christian way of life, as well as besmirching the Holy Name of God. We Christians are known by our fruits, the fruits of our Christian faith, that is our actions and lives that are truly in accordance with God and His ways, as we live out our lives faithfully each day in His Presence. Those who profess to be Christians and yet act in a different manner are truly deficient and dead in faith.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people, the Israelites and their remnants, which was at that time in exile in Babylon and in other places, that He would renew His people, just as they had fallen from grace and been cast down into defeat and exile from their homeland. The Lord used the allusion to a cedar tree to show how the Lord would renew the cedar tree, that a new sapling would regrow and be reestablished on the mountain of Israel, which firstly showed us all how God would not abandon His people even as He chastised and punished them because of their sins and wickedness. God after all still loved all of His beloved people who were all like His children. And like a loving and caring Father, He wants all of His children to grow up well and in the right way.
This is why He chastised and disciplined them when they disobeyed and refused to follow Him and His ways. The Lord does not want any one of them to be lost to Him forever, which could indeed happen through our disobedience and wickedness, all of which led into sin, and sin brings us all into the dominion of death and eternal damnation, condemned and separated forever from God, from His love and grace. That was why, while mankind disobeyed Him from the very beginning of time, God did not obliterate and destroy them all. He gave them chances and opportunities, again and again for them to return to Him and to find their way once again towards Him. Many had been lost along the way, but not few had been saved from the precipice of destruction, and brought into salvation in God.
In our second reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth in which the Apostle reminded all the faithful people of God that they must all live in faith, in the spirit and not in the way of the flesh. St. Paul often exhorted the faithful to be vigilant and to guard themselves against all those things of the flesh which may cause us mankind to fall into temptation and hence into disobedience against God. Throughout history, many people have fallen into these various temptations, failing to resist all the things that led them to follow the whim of their desires and greed, all the things that kept them from finding the path towards the Lord. When mankind prioritised themselves and forgot about God, His path and His teachings, that is when we are likely to fall into sin and destruction.
That was why the Lord reminded us all through His Apostle St. Paul that as Christians, we are all God’s beloved and holy people, and as is therefore expected from us, we should strive to live each and every moments of our lives worthily of the Lord, by cultivating our faith within us, allowing our faith to continue to grow and flourish throughout time, so that we may truly bear rich fruits and wonderful things and deeds in each and every moments of our lives. This is why we believe that our faith must always be supported and made alive and vibrant, living and true through our actions, by showing it in our love for God first and foremost, and then in our love for one another, for our fellow neighbours, brothers and sisters just as the Lord Himself had taught us.
Without these genuine and real actions, then our faith is no better than those of hypocrites and unbelievers. Those were the faults of many among our predecessors, as they made empty gestures and meaningless faith, while on the other hand, they committed grievous sins and wicked deeds against God and their fellow brothers and sisters alike. That is why we are cautioned that we should not walk down this same path which had led so many of our predecessors towards their downfall and destruction. We should always strive to inspire each other that even in the smallest and simplest things we say and do, we will always strive to embody our Christian faith in all things. This is how we can then make our faith truly alive, and how we can bring real impact and great fruits of our dedication, the fruits of love and hope, the fruits of goodness and virtues in our community of the faithful and in our world today.
In our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel of St. Mark, we heard of the Lord speaking about the parables of the Kingdom of God, comparing the Kingdom of God firstly to a sower of seeds and what happened when the seeds germinate and grow into plants that bear rich fruits and products, and then also to a small and tiny mustard seed which when it germinates and grows, it becomes a great and large tree under which many birds and other animals may take shelter in. All of these are ways for the Lord to explain and to make it clear that each and every one of us are parts of this same Kingdom of God, the Church that the Lord has established in this world, manifesting God’s kingdom and dominion through each and every one of us, through our very lives and efforts.
Through us and our works, our contributions and efforts, each one of us are part of the nurturing of the Kingdom of God being present in our midst, by us all partaking in the good works and efforts of the Church in each and every unique areas in life and in every particular missions and vocations that we have been called into. Through our every actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, all these will lead to the blossoming of the Kingdom of God in our midst, and we must never underestimate the impact of our actions. Our actions and way of life can either positively or negatively impact those present around us, as good and virtuous acts and works can truly lead to many others believing and following the Lord as well, and more therefore would be doing good deeds and works, but on the contrary, the same will also happen if we do negative and wicked acts, which may turn people away from the Church and the salvation in God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore realise that each one of us are cooperators of the truth and love of God, each and every one of us are the labourers in the vineyard of the Lord, and we have been called to our respective vocations and ministries, to proclaim the Lord through all of our words and deeds, and to be the shining beacons of God’s truth and Good News. May all of us continue to grow ever stronger in our faith in the Lord, and may the Lord continue to help, guide and support us in our journey throughout life, to do His will and to glorify His Name, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 4 : 26-34
At that time, Jesus also said, “In the kingdom of God it is like this : a man scatters seed upon the soil. Whether he is asleep or awake, be it day or night, the seed sprouts and grows, he knows not how. The soil produces of itself : first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when it is ripe for harvesting, they take the sickle for the cutting : the time for the harvest has come.”
Jesus also said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall we compare it? It is like a mustard seed which, when sown, is the smallest of all the seeds scattered upon the soil. But once sown, it grows up and becomes the largest of the plants in the garden, and even grows branches so big, that the birds of the air can take shelter in its shade.”
Jesus used many such stories, in order to proclaim the word to them in a way that they would be able to understand. He would not teach them without parables; but privately to His disciples He explained everything.
Liturgical Colour : Green
2 Corinthians 5 : 6-10
So we feel confident always. We know, that, while living in the body, we are exiled from the Lord, living by faith, without seeing; but we dare to think, that we would rather be away from the body, to go and live with the Lord. So, whatever we have to keep this house or lose it, we only wish to please the Lord.
Anyway, we all have to appear before the tribunal of Christ, for each one to receive what he deserves, for his good or evil deeds in the present life.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 91 : 2-3, 13-14, 15-16
It is good to give thanks to YHVH, to sing praise to Your Name, o Most High, to proclaim Your grace in the morning, to declare Your faithfulness at night.
The virtuous will flourish, like palm trees, they will thrive, like the cedars of Lebanon. Planted in the house of YHVH, they will prosper, in the courts of our God.
In old age, they will still bear fruit; they will stay fresh and green, to proclaim that YHVH is upright, “He is my Rock,” they say, “He never fails.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Ezekiel 17 : 22-24
Thus says YHVH : “At the top of the cedar, I will take one of its uppermost branches, a tender twig, and plant it. On a lofty, massive mountain, on a high mountain of Israel I will plant it. It will produce branches and bear fruit and become a magnificent cedar. Birds of all kinds will nest in it and find shelter in its branches.”
“And all the trees of the field shall know that I am YHVH : I, Who bring down the lofty tree and make the lowly tree tall. I will make the tree that is full of sap, wither, and the dry tree, bloom. I, YHVH, have spoken and this will I do.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 