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 responsibilities that we have as Christians, that is as all those whom God had called and chosen to be His own people, so that we all should live worthily in the presence of God, being inspiration and role models for each other in how we live our lives well, committed and dedicated to glorifying the Lord by our every actions throughout our daily living. We must always make good use of the many blessings, opportunities and all the other things which God has presented to us in all of our lives, so that by our contributions and works, we may indeed be living true and genuine Christian lives, in accordance with God has commanded us all to do.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle in which he highlighted the great vision of Heaven and God in all of His glory upon His Throne, which showed the revelation of the One Whom we truly believe in and have been worshipping. God had indeed made Himself visible and approachable to us through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, but at the same time, He is still the Almighty, Omnipotent and Omniscient God, Master and Lord over all the whole Universe, over all of Creation. That is why St. John elaborated on all the glorious things he had witnessed of the Lord, of the greatness and glory that is unparalleled and full of perfection, and the glory of the Angels, the Seraphim and the Cherubim surrounding the Throne of God, which reflects God’s far greater glory and might in them.

Through what we have heard in that passage from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle we are all reminded that God Who is our Lord and Master is truly beyond our comprehension and understanding, and He is Almighty and perfect, and has no need for us, and yet, He chose to share the overflowing Love that comes forth from His loving Heart with us all, creating all of us to share in His love and joy, and to exist with Him in His Holy Presence forevermore. This glorious existence and truth has been revealed and presented to us by St. John who also wanted each and every one of us to keep in mind the manner how we all live our lives each day. All of us must always strive to be worthy of the Lord in everything that we say and do so that everyone may know Him through us and our actions.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus told His disciples and the people listening to Him using a parable that we all ought to know well, that is the parable of the silver pounds or the silver talents. In this parable, the Lord wants to remind us all to be aware of our calling, mission and obligations as Christians, as His followers and those who have been entrusted with various and diverse gifts, blessings, talents, opportunities and other things by which we have been empowered and strengthened, and given the chance to make good use of them all for the benefit of all and everyone around us. All of us have been entrusted like those in the parable with the responsibilities, the ‘silver pounds’ which our Lord and Master has given us all, in its varying amounts and types.

As we heard from that parable, those servants who have made good use of the silver pounds they were entrusted with and gained from that investment and efforts were rewarded by the Master in the end, who entrusted them with authority and rule over cities under his power. Meanwhile, the servant who fearfully hid his silver pound, ignored his responsibilities and did nothing with it was punished for his lack of obedience and refusal to do as he had been told to. This is therefore a clear parallel and comparison with us all, in how we ought to make good use of the many blessings, gifts, talents and opportunities that God has granted to us. We should not keep them idle, ignoring the many things that we can do for the benefit of all those whom we encounter in life.

If we ignore these opportunities and do nothing in order to help all those around us whom we can help and empower through our own efforts, our care and love, then we shall have to account for it before God. For sin is not just about doing what is wrong and against the Law of God, but also includes the sin of omission, that is not doing and ignoring what we can perfectly do in our daily lives and activities, through the many opportunities and things that God had provided for us. Each and every one of us are the ones whom God had entrusted with the care of this world, the place that He has prepared for all of us, and we are also entrusted with the care of our fellow brothers and sisters, all fellow children of God, in our various capacities, be it as a parent, a child, a family member, a relative, a friend, or even as a stranger, offering love and kindness in all things.

Now, are we willing and able then to commit ourselves to a life that is filled with true grace and loving actions towards one another? Are we willing to put in the effort to invest in whatever it is that God had given us, just like those good and hardworking servants in the parable? Let us all remember that God, as St. John the Apostle showed part of His glory to us, has kindly given us all these blessings and good things, be it small or significant in amount so that we can make good use of them for everyone’s benefit. Yet, many of us had chosen to selfishly keep them to ourselves, gathering things that we desire for our own wants and ambitions. This is what we are warned against doing, and we should heed God’s reminders for us so that we do not wait until it is too late before we do something about it.

Let us all therefore continue to do our best to follow the Lord faithfully and worthily through our caring and loving actions towards our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Let us all do our part in making this world a better place, starting from ourselves and our communities, in how we act towards those whom we encounter in our daily activities and lives, and in our society surrounding us. May our actions, words and deeds continue to glorify the Lord and proclaim His truth and Good News, and bring the love of God to more and more people, now and always. Amen.