Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded to live our lives with virtue and righteousness, to do what God has commanded and taught us to do, to be truly Christians not just in name or appearance, but also in our every actions, words and deeds, in our every moments in life. As Christians, all of us must be good role models, in being the good examples for everyone around us, touching their lives by our inspiring actions. We must show our Christian faith in all of our interactions with one another, in our love for our fellow brothers and sisters around us, and in our desire to carry out our activities in accordance with God’s will, following His Law and commandments at all times, in how we act towards our friends and even to strangers all around us.

In our first reading today, taken from the continuation of the Book of the prophet Sirach, we heard of the words of wisdom from the prophet Sirach to the people of God regarding the matter of friendships and relationships, and how one ought to manage these in our lives, so that we do not end up being disappointed by the friends we make, who may not be our true and lasting friends. The prophet Sirach presented the wisdom of God in highlighting the different kinds of friends that we may have and make in our lives’ journeys. He rightly mentioned how if we are not careful or vigilant, we may end up be making friends with those who just seek benefits from that friendship they were making with us, but one that do not truly last.

Why is that so? That is because some people are friends with us just because there are things that they can benefit from us, and this is the reality of how the world works. And there will be those who stay by our side only during the good and prosperous times, while when things go against us, they will likely abandon us. Only true and faithful friends will stay by our side, and not leave us even when things are difficult for us. That is exactly what the prophet Sirach told us, that we should treasure any of these good and faithful friends if we have them with us, and take good care of such friends and the friendships that we should nurture and maintain with them. This is something that we should be doing in our lives, in living our lives faithfully as good Christian brothers and sisters to one another, to be faithful and committed to our relationships and friendships with each other.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was confronted by some Pharisees as He was out teaching the people, asking and testing Him about the matter of divorce, on whether divorce is allowed or not as according to the Law of God revealed through Moses, divorce had been allowed as long as certain requirements were fulfilled. Thus, those Pharisees tried to test the Lord with this difficult dilemma and case, hoping to trap Him in His own words and discredit Him before the people. But the Lord showed forth His Wisdom and authority, and proclaimed the truth of God, His intentions for His people and the true meaning of the Law plainly through His words.

The Lord made it clear that divorce was not in fact meant to be possible, as the Lord Himself said that this concession was made by Moses because the Israelites back then were so stubborn and hardened in their hearts that he allowed this concession for divorce to happen. The Lord reminded the people and all of us that the sanctity of marriage as God had intended it, is not supposed to be easily overridden by man’s desires and whim, or by certain agreements and arrangements, as how the divorce laws and rules were practiced by the Pharisees and the people of God at that time. In fact, by the time of the Lord’s ministry and works, many of these rules and laws were further amended to make it easier for people to divorce their spouses, but this led them to commit adultery and sins against God.

Linking what we heard in our Gospel passage today to the first reading from the Book of the prophet Sirach, we are essentially reminded that in our establishment of relationships, particularly in the Holy Matrimony or Marriage between man and woman, it is very important that we develop good and healthy relationship before rushing into marriage, which is in fact one of the main reasons why marriages failed in the past, as it had been throughout history and up to this very day. Many people did not prepare themselves well for the married life, or did not know their spouses well enough before committing themselves to the sacred union blessed by God, and hence, later on committing sin by adulterous relationships in cheating on their spouses with other people.

It is also important to take note that strong and good Christian families are the important foundations and pillars of the Church, as it is through good and faithful Christian families, filled with love and faith in God, and also with love and devotion to one another that we can raise generations of young Christians that are steeped in God’s love and grace, and by showing them how we all ought to live as Christians, as God’s holy people, His disciples and followers, that we can lead new generations of the faithful of God, showing them the path to follow in our journey of faith as Christians, as we navigate through the difficulties, challenges and temptations found all around us in this world. If we are not careful, and let the evil one to strike at our families, then it will harm the Church and countless young Christians and ourselves as well.

That is why as Christians, we are exhorted to be careful in how we live our lives, so that we may avoid committing acts and ways in our lives that are contrary to our Christian faith and beliefs. We must not do things that may constitute a scandal to our faith, to the Church and the Holy Name of the Lord. Unfortunately many amongst our predecessors who are Christians, were themselves bad examples of this, as many among them did not remain faithful to the commitments that they had made in their marriage, leading to adulterous relationships, broken families, neglected children and spouses, among other things that are truly inappropriate and improper for us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people.

Let us all remind ourselves that as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us ought to reflect the same kind of love that God has for us, the love that is totally generous, unconditional and genuine, in how we treat one another, be it as friends or relatives, and be it as spouses in our families, in our other forms of relationships and friendships in this life we have. Let us all strive to be good and worthy examples of our Christian living, modelling our every actions, words and deeds, our whole lives on the examples that our Lord Himself has shown us, and which many of our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs had inspired us all with as well. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us all to His path, to His salvation and eterrnal life. Amen.