Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for us all to hold fast to our faith in God, to follow Him wholeheartedly in all things and to be prepared to face difficulties, trials and challenges in our path and journey in life as followers of Christ, as Christians, God’s holy and beloved people. Each one of us must always be steadfast and be exemplary in our lives, in our faith and actions so that we will be able to inspire one another and strengthen our fellow brethren in faith, in commitment and entrusting ourselves to the Lord in all occasions and circumstances. We must always continue to trust that the Lord is and will always be by our side throughout our challenges in life, even if worldly means fail us.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Philemon, we heard of the Apostle telling St. Philemon, who was a fellow Christian and missionary of the Church, regarding a particular person Onesimus, also known as St. Onesimus, who according to Church tradition and history was the slave of St. Philemon, to whom St. Paul was addressing his Epistle to. At that time, during the early Roman Empire, slavery was quite common throughout the Empire, and Onesimus was a slave that had run away from his master, which was perhaps St. Philemon himself. And according to Apostolic and Church tradition, that happened before both of them were converted to the Christian faith. St. Paul encountered both of them on his journeys, and eventually converted both of them to Christianity.

Therefore, in today’s passage that we heard, St. Paul likely wanted to reconcile between the two of them, as St. Onesimus was likely a companion of St. Paul while he was in Rome, and at that time, St. Paul was in prison or was going through difficult moments due to persecution, which was why St. Paul sent St. Onesimus back to St. Philemon, so that not only they could be reconciled to each other but they could also continue the many good works that St. Paul himself had started, as faithful disciples and missionaries of the Lord, complementing each others’ efforts and works through the various gifts and talents, abilities and opportunities that the Lord had granted them all. St. Paul has therefore also reminded all of us Christians to be charitable, loving and kind to one another, and live with harmony and peace with one another. 

Then, in our Gospel passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to the Pharisee who asked Him about the kingdom of God and its coming into this world, and He responded by saying that the kingdom of God is not something that can be seen, witnessed or identified by a place or location. Instead, the kingdom of God is within us, in our midst and all around us, and we are all part of God’s Kingdom that He Himself has established, through the establishment of His Church, for the Church of God is the kingdom of God on earth, with God as our Lord and King, and as Head of the Universal Church, Who exercises His authority through His Vicar, our Pope and the bishops who are the successors of the Apostles.

Through what the Lord had shared with the Pharisee, He has highlighted that all of us must always remain firm and strong in our commitment to the Lord, despite the challenges and trials that we may have to face, remembering that the Lord Himself had faced similar rejection and persecution because of what He had brought into our world and what He had proclaimed before all. If the Lord Himself had to suffer and endure hardships, persecutions and eventually even a most humiliating death on the Cross, then we too may suffer similar rejection, persecutions, oppressions and challenges because the world and all the wickedness in it are truly incompatible with the way of the Lord and the truth that He has brought into our midst.

As Christians, all of us should always be ready to help one another, to reach out to those who are in need around us, to support one another in our journey and life, especially as we encounter struggles and challenges, difficulties and persecutions, oppressions and trials in our path. Like St. Paul who kept on encouraging the faithful and gave his help and assistance whenever and wherever he could, including what we heard in our first reading today, in his attempt to reconcile St. Philemon with St. Onesimus for their own good and for the good of the Church and the faithful, therefore each and every one of us must also model ourselves and our lives and interactions upon the examples of those faithful and committed servants of God.

Each and every one of us should always be aware of the difficulties that we may face as Christians, the struggles and challenges that our brethren may be facing around us. We should not be ignorant to their pleas for help, especially if we are in the position to help and assist, and even if we ourselves are also suffering and being persecuted. The Lord Jesus Himself has been rejected, persecuted and oppressed, but this did not stop Him from continuing to reach out to all those who have been rejected and ostracised by the society, and also from loving and forgiving all those who have persecuted and hurt Him. As Christians, we should learn from our Lord’s own examples and be inspired to show the same love and kindness to our brethren, and even to those who despised us. We ought to pray for them and show them love, charity and compassion, so that they may be touched by our love and be changed by God’s love and grace.

May the Lord, our most loving and merciful God continue to help and strengthen us all in our journey through life, so that by our continued cooperation and harmony with one another, by our constant support to our brethren in need, and by us journeying with each other, supporting and encouraging our fellow brethren along the way, we may be strengthened and empowered in our resolve and desire to walk this path of righteousness and justice with God. May God bless us all and our every efforts, works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.