Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded of the need for us all as God’s faithful people, His holy and beloved ones to follow His path and Law, to obey His will and to do what is right and just, and not to allow ourselves to be easily tempted and swayed by the pleasures and comforts, wicked desires of this world around us. All of us should always live our lives faithfully and dedicate ourselves thoroughly to the cause of the Lord, being reminded of the manner in which we should carry out in our daily living as Christians, that is as God’s holy and worthy people, those whom He had called and chosen to be His own. We should not be ignorant of the mission and calling which each one of us have been entrusted with by God.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord told His people in the kingdom of Judah of the futility and foolishness of those who put their faith and trust in man and other worldly means instead of trusting and having faith in God. This must be understood in the context of how many among the people of Judah at that time had not obeyed the Lord, turned away from Him and abandoned His Law and commandments, persecuted the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them in order to remind them and guide them to the right path. They hardened their hearts and minds against God and His prophets, and instead of listening to the truth, they chose to delude themselves through all sorts of temptations present around them, the temptations of worldly ambitions and power, of pleasures and satisfaction of the flesh.

That was why they ended up falling ever further away from the Lord and His path, and we are all reminded that we should not follow the same path that they had trodden and walked, or else, we may end up falling into this same path towards our downfall as well. Nonetheless, the Lord has always loved us and He has always been patient in caring for us. He never gave up on us and despite our rebelliousness and waywardness, He still patiently sent His helpers and messengers to guide us all down the right path. That God still sent Jeremiah to remind those wayward people and even reassuring them of His care and compassion, was proof enough of how precious and dear each one of us are to Him, and we really should not take this for granted.

In our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of how the Apostle spoke about the matter of the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the One Whom God had sent into this world in order to bring about our salvation. St. Paul spoke of how the Lord has risen from the dead and how this Resurrection indeed truly happened, and because of that, those who have believed in the Lord and His Resurrection will be assured of the salvation which God has given to them, and they were not foolish in believing and putting their trust in the Lord and His Resurrection into glory. They were not believing in a lie or falsehood, but were believing in something that many had suffered and died in testifying for the truth.

We are all reminded that since Christ has risen from the dead and conquered death itself, therefore our faith and trust in Him is not something that is meaningless or useless, as we shall be triumphant with Him and we will share in His glory and the joy that He has promised us all if we remain true to our faith in Him. We should not easily be dissuaded from following the Lord and we have to hold firmly our faith in Him because after all, what we have believed is indeed the truth, and countless people throughout the history of the Church, many martyrs and saints had endured lots of obstacles, hardships and persecutions in the Name of the Lord, and yet, they never gave up their faith in God.

And why was that so? That is likely because they stood up for what they themselves had witnessed or what their predecessors themselves had seen and experienced. No one would have been willing to suffer and face death in the manner of the martyrs and saints, if what they had believed in was false or not really true. Instead, the very fact that truth is what they stood up for allowed them all to endure even the most terrible persecutions and punishments is a testimony showing that what our Christian predecessors have believed in about the Lord, His mission, His works and ultimately, His own suffering, death and resurrection are truly real and not merely a myth or a made-up story or tale. Therefore, all of us should also be strengthened in our own faith and belief in God as well.

Then, in our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist in which we heard the famous teaching of the Lord to His disciples and all the other people listening to Him, known as the Sermon on the Mount or the Eight Beatitudes. In that sermon, the Lord proclaimed a series of blessings for those who have lived their lives virtuously according to what the Lord Himself has taught and told His disciples. He reminded them all that those who truly believe in God ought to have the qualities that He had highlighted, namely, being poor and hungry, those who did not put their focus in life on material goods and pursuit of wealth and glory, as well as those who are seeking for justice and work for peace, among others.

All of these ought to serve as guide and inspiration for all of us to follow in our own lives so that by our every actions, works and endeavours, we will always strive to be good examples for others around us, full of hope and faith in the Lord, virtuous and just, as we are all called to have those virtues in us, to be the ones whose lives are truly dedicated to God and a reflection of the light of God, His hope, truth and love. Can we therefore be this shining beacon of hope and inspiration to others? Can we be the ones to help those around us to come ever closer to God and to do God’s will, obeying His Law and commandments to the best of our abilities? Each and every one of us are reminded of this important mission and responsibility that we have so that we can help to bring others around us, our brethren, ever closer to God.

May the Lord, our most loving God, our Master and Creator, continue to strengthen us and empower us in our everyday living, giving us all the courage and the power to carry out the missions entrusted to us all as members of this Church of God. May God bless us always and may He bless our every good works and endeavours, our efforts to glorify His Name, now and always. Amen.