Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that we are all beloved by God, and God has always given us the opportunities and the means for each and every one of us to return to Him with contrite hearts and repentance, ever showing us all His rich mercy and forgiveness, as well as the desire to be reunited with us. We must always remember that God has always been patient in reaching out to us, caring for us and showing us His providence and compassion at each and every moments, and we should never take this for granted, or else, we may regret it when it is too late for us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the prophet spoke about the desolation and destruction that the people of God in the lands and the kingdom of Judah had been facing at that time, having endured all those because of the sins and wickedness that they had committed, and as they persecuted the prophets and messengers of God, refusing to listen to God’s words and reminders, refusing to obey the Law and commandments of God, all of which led to them being punished and chastised for all the wicked deeds which they had done. But the Lord wanted to tell His people that they are not forgotten, and that He still loved them all nonetheless, and everything that He had done, was meant to help bring them all back to Him.

That was why the prophet Jeremiah said all the words of prayer we have heard in our first reading today, calling upon the Lord to have mercy on the people, all of whom had indeed sinned against God and failed to follow His ways. But the people also realised their sinfulness and many among them wanted to return to the Lord, and thus, the prophet Jeremiah echoed and showed this sentiment and desire to the Lord through His prayers and words to Him, calling on Him to plead for the sake of the ones whom God had beloved and cared for. And through that, each and every one of us are also therefore reminded of this fact of how we are truly the holy and beloved people of God, called and chosen to do God’s will in our world today, and to reject sin and evil in our lives.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we heard of the Lord explaining the parable of the weeds and the wheat in a field to His disciples and the ones assembled to listen to Him. Through that parable, the Lord told them all of an enemy who plotted against the master and sower of seeds in the field by sowing weeds upon the same field, and which caused the weeds to grow in between the crops and the desired plants. The Lord explained to His disciples how that parable is a representation of the Lord and the evil one competing for the hearts and minds of the people, those in whom God and the evil one have sowed respectively, the seeds of faith, hope and love, as well as the evil one’s seeds of doubt, despair and hatred, among many others.

This parable highlighted the reality that each and every one of us have received these various ‘seeds’ planted in us, and it is therefore now up to us to cultivate the right kind of ‘seeds’ in our lives. We have been given the choice and the free will by God to decide on how we ought to live our lives, and what path we are to choose in our path going forward in life. The fact that the wheat and crops are growing together with the weeds and the other undesirable plants is a reality that every one of us living in this world are struggling with daily, as our lives are truly a tapestry of things that are good and righteous, as well as those that are sinful and unworthy of God, through our disobedience against God and sins against Him.

The choice is therefore ours whether we want to do what is right and just according to God’s will or whether we prefer to do things in our own way, in listening to the devil and all of his wicked lies and deceptions. And in that same Gospel passage today, in the Lord’s explanations, the Lord made it clear that the weeds shall be uprooted and destroyed in the fire at the time of the reaping and the harvest, reminding all of us that if we continue to embrace those sinful ways and path in life, then in the end, there will be nothing left for us but regret because we have chosen to reject the ever generous and gracious love of God. That is why we are all called and reminded to embrace God’s righteousness and grace, His love and truth, and strive our best to live our lives according to this path.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Chrysologus, a great and holy man of God whose life and devotion to God, great works and efforts should be great inspiration and model for all of us to follow. St. Peter Chrysologus was born in what is now part of northern Italy during the final decades of the Roman Empire in the Western Mediterranean, where he became first a deacon and then archdeacon in service to the Church, before the then Pope appointed him as the Bishop of Ravenna, which was then the de facto capital of the Western Roman Empire. It was told in Church tradition that the Pope saw a vision of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Apolllinaris of Ravenna pointing to a young man who would become the new Bishop of Ravenna, and this vision referred to the then young St. Peter Chrysologus.

St. Peter Chrysologus gained his epithet of Chrysologus or ‘Golden-worded’ exactly because of his often simple yet powerful homilies which touched the lives and hearts of countless people who were under his care and listened to him. St. Peter Chrysologus explained the Scriptures and the Christian teachings well and he also made a firm and courageous stand against all the falsehoods, heresies and other evils of his time, doing his best to lead the people of God in the path towards God all throughout his whole life. St. Peter Chrysologus is truly a great example for all of us as Christians, in everything that he had done and in the efforts that he had in devoting himself completely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow in the footsteps of St. Peter Chrysologus and the many other saints, holy men and women of God in our lives, so that we may continue to do our best to grow ever stronger in our faith in the Lord, and that we may be truly worthy and faithful in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions with one another. Let us all be the rich and bountiful crops and not be the weeds in the Lord’s field that is this world, making best use of the opportunities and time given to us to do His will, now and always. Amen.