Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as all of us gather together to listen to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that during this Lenten season we have been given the opportunity to experience more fully God’s compassion and loving grace, His generous mercy and kindness, all the love which God has shown us throughout time, again and again. Unfortunately, we have often spurned and rejected His love and kindness, and therefore we find ourselves in this predicament because of our own lack of faith and trust in God, and because we allowed ourselves to be easily tempted and swayed to follow the false path of the devil, and all the distractions and temptations around us which brought us into this path towards darkness and damnation.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Hosea, we heard of the words of the prophet Hosea who was sent to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah during the late years of its existence, after the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel. At that time, many among the people of God had been wandering off from the path which God has shown and taught them through their ancestors, through Moses and the prophets sent to them to guide and remind them. Thus, the Lord had sent His prophets to warn them of the impending consequences and sufferings which the people would have to suffer because of their disobedience and sins. But despite all these warnings and harsh punishments, ultimately, the Lord still loved His people and cared for them.

And that was why amidst the warnings and words of doom, the Lord spoke words of reassurance just as what we have heard through the prophet Hosea, calling on all of those same people to turn away from their sins and wickedness because He would show all of them His most generous mercy and heal them from all of their problems and troubles. God would not abandon them all to the darkness, and He would lead them all once again down the path of righteousness, showing each and every one of them how they should live their lives so that they would no longer be separated from Him, and would once again be worthy of Him through their renewed faith and righteousness, purified from all of their wickedness and faults. And this is an important reminder and assurance for all of us that we ourselves will have this same forgiveness and healing given to us if we commit ourselves anew to the Lord.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist we heard the words of the Lord Jesus to a teacher of the Law who went to ask Him regarding which among all the commandments of the Law of God is the most important one. In order to understand this, we must then understand that in the Jewish customs and practices of the time, there were at least six hundred and thirteen rules and precepts in the Law of God revealed through Moses, all of which were imposed by the religious elites of the people, namely the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. At that time, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in particular observed a very strict and extensive version of the Law, which were cumbersome and difficult to practice.

Not only that but those elders and leaders of the people also used those Law and commandments to actively discriminate against those whom they disapproved of, making themselves superior and better than everyone around them. But this was not what the Lord intended with the Law that He has given to His people, as the Law was never meant to discriminate or to make the people’s livelihood challenging and tough. The Law has always been meant to show the people of God on how one ought to love their loving God and Master, how they can love one another in the same way so that they can truly be worthy to be called the children of God, the children and the beloved ones of the One Who has always loved them from the beginning regardless of their sins and trespasses, their imperfections and faults.

And that is why the Lord told the teacher of the Law that in essence, the whole entire Law, all the precepts and rules were all pointing to two main, essential ideals, and that is the manner how one ought to love the Lord with all of their might, strength and capabilities, to love Him above all other things, and then secondly as He Himself had mentioned, to love one another in the same way that God Himself has loved us, and at least as much as we have loved ourselves. Love is the hallmark of our Christian faith and life, and we cannot be without this love, both for God and for our fellow brothers and sisters, for without love, then we are nothing, and our faith, without love, is truly meaningless, empty and dead. With love, through what God Himself has shown and taught us, all of us are shown the path towards our loving Father and Creator, the path to our salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, during this time and season of Lent, we are therefore reminded and called to return to the Lord, our most loving God and Father, to repent from our faults and mistakes, and to embrace our Father’s most generous and rich mercy, to come back towards Him with the sincere desire to be forgiven from our many sins and wickedness. We should no longer be ignorant of these opportunities which the Lord had provided to us in order to help us find our way back to Him. Instead, we should do our very best so that by our every moments in life, we will always be exemplary and be truly worthy of the Lord, by our obedience and humility, in recognising that each one of us need God’s Presence and love. By God’s love we have all been redeemed, and therefore we too should love Him wholeheartedly as well.

May the Lord, our most loving Father and Master continue to love us most wonderfully as He has always done, all these while. May He continue to inspire us all and teach us to love Him by following His own example of love. May He continue to give us the courage and strength, the determination and willingness to love our fellow brethren around us in the same manner as well. May all of us be truly full of love from God, and be truly worthy of God’s grace and love, now and always. Amen.