Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded through them that each and every one of us as Christians must always live our lives in each and every moments, in every day living to the best of our abilities, to do what the Lord has shown and taught us to do so that our lives and works may truly be worthy of God, and that we may truly be inspirational and exemplary in our own actions, words, deeds and all the things we have, so that many more people may come to know the Lord through us and our examples, and hopefully by our inspiration we may continue to lead more and more people to follow the Lord as well.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Ephesus, we continue to hear the same exhortation which St. Paul had made to the faithful there regarding how they all ought to continue to follow the Lord faithfully in the manner that he himself has taught and shown them, and to remain united as one, just as he highlighted in today’s passage, reminding them of their one common baptism, the same Church and Body that they all belong to, the one united Church of God that they should all keep together, and not to be divided by the many sources of divisions that are often around us all, which threaten the unity of the Church and the salvation of souls among other things.

At that time, as we have discussed earlier in the week, and if we understand the context of the early Church situation at the time, there were strifes, distrust and disunity among the early faithful especially between the Jewish converts and those who came from the non-Jewish origins, or the Gentiles, with some of the former often seeing themselves as superior to those who did not follow the Jewish laws, rules and customs. They claimed that those who did not follow the fullness of the strict Jewish laws, practices and customs could not have a share in God’s grace and Presence, but St. Paul and the other Apostles definitively opposed this view and false idea, reminding all the faithful to remain true to the path that the Lord has shown them and not to follow the excesses of the way of how the Pharisees had practiced and observed the Law, which the Lord Himself had criticised earlier on.

In their preoccupation to follow the Law, in all of its rituals and details, all the extensive restrictions and rigid ways, those people had forgotten the true meaning and intention of the Law of God, which was never meant to oppress, restrict or make the people’s livelihood and circumstances difficult. Rather, the Law of God was always meant to teach and show the people, all of us mankind on how to love the Lord and to follow Him, He Who is Love, as God is Love, and this great love which God has for us therefore brought Him to teach us all His Law, which had been meant to show us all how we can love Him ever more perfectly, and then show that same generous and genuine love in our own actions and interactions, in loving our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples and to the people assembled all around Him about the signs of times, and all the things that they could perceive from their senses and experiences. He told them all that they all had seen and known the signs of things around them, and yet they failed to perceive the truth from what He has taught and shown them all, and some among them were still stubborn in their refusal to follow His teachings and truth by their constant opposition and attempts to discredit Him and make His path difficult. And there were some others yet who also failed to understand and believe despite everything which they had seen, witnessed and heard from the works and ministry of the Lord, Who has performed great miracles and spoken with great Wisdom as prophesied by the prophets.

He also told them all to make peace with one another and to settle things that had divided them, and all the obstacles to peace, harmony and love, which had caused divisions among them. It is our prejudices, arrogance, ambitions, ego, pride, greed and all other negativities in us, all the temptations and wickedness around us that can lead us astray away from God and into the path of disobedience, disharmony and all the things that lead us into our downfall and destruction. And we must not forget that the evil ones are always busy at work in trying to divide us against each other, to be jealous, angry and hateful towards our brethren, because it is when we are divided and when our hearts and minds are filled with these negative thoughts and emotions that we are more susceptible to their strikes and attacks.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard and discussed from the Scripture readings earlier on, clearly all of us are reminded to keep the Lord at the very centre and focus of our whole lives, our existence and our every actions and deeds. And we have also been reminded to keep the unity in our Church and Christian community, to remain firmly united in love and to remain rooted in God in all things. We should not allow our pride, ego, ambition, desires and attachments for worldly glory to distract and tempt us away from God and lead us to be divided and torn in our unity in the One Church of God. We should always work towards strengthening the unity of our love and actions, so that we may draw ever closer to God and His holy Presence, all united in our common love for God and our generous love for each other.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father continue to bestow upon us His strength and encouragement so that we can always remain firmly faithful in Him at all times, and may He continue to help us to preserve the unity in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, in the one united Body of Christ. May all of us also strive to be good and active contributors in our respective ministries and calling in life, to do what we can to proclaim the Lord and His salvation to more and more people, by becoming holy and worthy beacons of God’s light and grace, His love and compassion in our own communities, now and always. Amen.