Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the truth and Good News of God which we have all received from Him, and which we therefore should always be ready to share with all those whom we encounter in our daily lives, in how we live our lives worthily in the Lord’s Presence at all times, becoming exemplary disciples and followers of the Lord at all times. Each and every one of us have been called to be good and worthy witnesses of Our Lord’s Resurrection, His Good News, love and hope to everyone we encounter, and we must not forget of this mission and calling which the Lord has entrusted to us. In each and every moments, we have to strive and do our best to fulfil what we have been called to do.

In our first reading today, we heard of the account from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Paul the Apostle went to Athens in Greece, at the centre of the Greek philosophy and also paganism at that time. He went to the place called the Areopagus, which in Athens was the place where all the philosophers went to openly say their opinions and debate with one another on various issues. It was there that St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, spoke about the Lord, the One and only True God before the people assembled at the Areopagus, to introduce and let Him be known to all of them, so that they may all come to know Who this God and Lord is, beyond what worldly philosophies, discussions and all other material matters that they had commonly discussed and debated about.

Essentially, St. Paul presented to all of them the knowledge and truth of the Unknown God Who had been not known and not identified to those people in Athens, who at that time believed in a variety of deities, gods and goddesses, according to the Greek and other mythologies of the region. All those deities were often personification of various natural phenomena and bodies, such as sky, thunder, sea and earthquakes, among many others, but St. Paul presented to all of them the one and only True God, the One Who has until then been unknown and indiscernible to them, the One Who created the Heaven and the Earth and the whole Universe, including all the wonderful things that the Greeks and others had been modelling their gods and goddesses upon.

And through the great Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul managed to convince some amongst those people of the truth, who became intrigued at wanting to know more about the Lord, God and Master of all the Universe. There were indeed those who refused to believe and made fun of St. Paul and what he taught, but the Lord was with him and through his efforts, the Good News began to spread to the land of Greece, in Athens and many other cities and towns, where Christian communities of believers began to spring up despite the often difficult and hostile conditions that the faithful had to face in the midst of opposition and persecutions against them, which led to many of them suffering greatly and many were also martyred for their faith. And yet, these led to even more courageous efforts at evangelisation and mission.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples and reassuring all of them, telling them that the Holy Spirit will come upon them, strengthening and encouraging them amidst all the trials and challenges that they might have to face in their path and journey, in their missions and works as Christians. It is a powerful assurance and message of hope from the Lord to His disciples, reminding them that they will never be alone in their ministry and works, and the Lord Himself would always be with them, guiding and inspiring them, empowering them at every stage of their journey and ministry. The Lord will never leave them all by themselves, and He will be with them even in the darkest moments.

As what the Apostles and the disciples themselves would experience, they would face the greatest trials and challenges, hardships and evils, and yet, because of their faith in the Lord and in the assurances which He Himself has given to them, they did not give in to fear, doubt or despair, but they continued to go forth courageously in proclaiming the Good News of God and His truth to all the people of all the nations to whom they ministered. The Holy Spirit guided them all in all that they said and acted on, and they did not allow the temptations and pressures of the world, the trials, challenges and hardships that they faced to discourage them from their works and ministry. Instead, they kept on going with faith, with great confidence that came from the Lord Himself, performing many good works for God and His people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect upon what we have just heard and received today from the Word of God. As the disciples and followers of Christ, all of us should indeed be courageous and joyful in proclaiming the Good News and truth that God has entrusted to all of us. But it is not enough that we just proclaim the Lord’s words and truth, but even more importantly, we must live our Christian lives each day with great commitment and dedication, that in each and every one of our actions, we will always be good role models and examples for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We must continue to be good and worthy in our every actions, words and works, so that by our lives and examples, we may truly glorify God in all things.

May the Risen Lord, our Lord Who has loved us all so wonderfully and reassured us all again and again of His hope and love, continue to bless our every good works, efforts and actions, so that we may continue to glorify Him and do many great works in Him at all times, in everything that we say and do, now and always. Amen.