Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all heard the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are constantly being reminded yet again and again that each and every one of us as Christians are called to be righteous and full of virtue in everything that we say and do, in our every parts of life, in all the things we take part in. All of us cannot be idle in the living of our faith and we should not ignore the things and opportunities which we have that may allow us to do more for the benefit of those around us, in loving one another most generously and tenderly just as the Lord has taught and wanted us all to do, to be truly filled with His love and kindness, His generosity and compassion at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words from the Book of Proverbs in which we are reminded that if we choose the path of wickedness and evil, all these eventually will lead to destruction and death. None of these will lead us to true happiness, satisfaction and joy. At that time, many among the people of God, the Israelites and their descendants had not been truly faithful to God, and they had spent a lot of time indulging in all sorts of worldly distractions and temptations, pleasures, desires and ambitions, all the pursuits which had led them deeper and deeper into the fallen path, into the path towards their condemnation, destruction and downfall. All these things can happen to us as well if we are not careful and vigilant.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we are reminded by the short passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke, in which the Lord told the people who informed Him that His mother and brothers, likely His relatives and not actual brothers, were there to come and see Him. He told them that every one of them are like His mother and brothers if they all do the will of God, obey Him and commit themselves to Him. On a literal interpretation and surface level, these words might have sounded as if the Lord Jesus was being very rude for His words on them and on His response to their coming before the people, however, if we truly understand better of what the Lord intended with these words, then we will appreciate better what His intention and desire is, in reminding us all to continue to obey the Lord and to do His will as we all should have.

The Lord loved His mother Mary very much, and devoted Himself to Him, and He also loves everyone without exception, and thus, it is truly not at all in His intention to snub or disrespect His mother and relatives in any way, least of all His beloved Mother. In fact, the Lord was in fact highlighting and doubling up on His respect on His mother Mary by doing so, as Mary herself was and is a perfect example of faith and obedience to God. The Lord has highlighted to every one of us that if we follow Mary’s examples, then we are going to make it towards His Presence because indeed through Mary is the most direct path towards the Lord and His salvation. That is why our Christian faith honours Mary so much and accord to her a truly respectful position as the Mother of God.

And not only that, as this is also an assurance from the Lord that everyone who is good and just, obedient and faithful to God, full of virtue and love in their lives, in their every words, actions and deeds, all shall be blessed by God and all of them shall be made worthy by Him because they all had done what God had asked them to do. He will bless them in the manner that He has blessed His own Beloved Mother, and make them all filled with His grace just as Mary herself is full of God’s grace. Thus, it is an important reminder to each and every one of us not to be idle in the living of our faith in our respective lives. As Christians, we must always embody a strong, vibrant and missionary faith, one that is based upon our strong commitment and love towards God.

Each and every one of us are reminded to love one another ever more generously and to commit ourselves to the path that the Lord has shown and taught us, and best still following the path which His Mother, Mary, our own loving Mother has treaded and persevered through in her most faithful and committed life, in doing whatever she could to follow her Son and to do God’s will. Each and every one of us have to realise that we are all also part of this same Church, this same Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and hence, we are part of the same missions and efforts which the Lord had entrusted to His Church. We cannot dwell anymore in indulging ourselves upon worldly pleasures and desires. Instead, we should endeavour to renew our faith, commitment, dedication and obedience to God.

As Christians, it is always important that we continue to remind ourselves to be active in reaching out to those around us, especially those who are in need and those who are struggling, either physically, mentally or spiritually. Each and every one of us are brothers and sisters in the same Lord, and we are all called to be truly loving and life-giving in all things, in each and every moments of our lives, down to the smallest things, in all of our interactions and the time we spent with one another. The Lord our God should always be at the centre of our lives and existence, and He should always be the reason why we do things with love, inspired by His own most loving and generous examples, and also through His Mother’s loving intercession and help for all of us.

May the Lord continue to help and bless us all in our every works, efforts and endeavours, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us so that by our commitments to Him and by our every exemplary and inspiring examples in life, we may continue to bear forth His light and truth, hope and love to all the people whom we encounter daily in our lives, now and always, forevermore. Amen.