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 great love which we have received from God and how we are then expected to show the same love towards our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Each and every one of us as Christians should always be filled with great love, firstly for the Lord and then of course for everyone around us, for our loved ones and for those whom we encounter daily in life. As Christians, all of us should also should be patient in enduring hardships and difficulties in life, and especially when facing persecution, hatred and evil around us, we ourselves should not be doing the same to one another, but instead be good examples of love and hope to everyone we encounter in life.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the Apostle reminding the people of God there to be truly genuine and sincere in all of their actions, dealings, in all of their ways and interactions with one another and with all those who have not yet believed in the Lord. It is indeed important because St. Paul said that they should not give anyone any reason to hinder the works of the mission which God has called them all to do by their own actions and deeds, their words and interactions which might be contrary to what they preach and believe in. Indeed, true and genuine Christian faith involve us all walking the talk, that means we really have to put into practice what we have believed in and not merely just paying lip service to our faith in the Lord.

St. Paul exhorted the faithful brethren in Corinth that they all should be good examples of faith to everyone around them, both their fellow brethren and everyone who witnessed their actions and great courage in living their Christian faith with true sincerity and commitment. Otherwise, if they were hypocrites who acted in manner that were contrary to the way they believed, then it could prevent many from coming to believe in the Lord because they would consider us Christians to be dishonest and even immoral, and such things can lead to scandal and harm not only to the Church but even to the Holy Name of the Lord and our Christian faith itself, and such acts are great sins against God.

As St. Paul noted and highlighted to the faithful in Corinth that people around them could notice and see the way that they lived their lives with true Christian charity, generosity and care, with kindness, patience and mercy in all of their actions, in how they have solidarity with those who are suffering and who are poor, and also standing firmly and courageously for their faith in the Lord, not giving in easily to the temptations and pressures of the world that may try to coerce and force them to do otherwise. Indeed, as St. Paul himself also said in another occasion that ‘People will know that we are Christians by our love’ which echo well to what the Lord Jesus told His disciples and followers to be full of love for Him and for everyone around them, to love without limits and boundaries.

This is therefore an important reminder for all of us Christians living in our world today that we should not allow ourselves to abandon our faith or be insincere in following our Christian faith because of our actions which do not show true Christian charity, compassion and care for one another, lacking in kindness, mercy and patience for our fellow brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, the sad reality is such that it is within the Church itself where people, fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, fellow Catholics who are often locked together in bitter struggles, rivalries and competitions with each other, in all the unhealthy and sinister church politics that permeate virtually every aspect of our church life and actions everywhere around us.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus Himself therefore reminded us all through His disciples and His Church that this is not the path that we should be walking in, but rather we should truly embody our faith in Him with genuine, compassionate and boundless love just as I elaborated earlier on. The Lord told His disciples that according to the old Jewish customs and laws, the ones which the Lord had passed down through Moses to His people, any sins and mistakes ought to be paid over in retribution, hence ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘tooth for a tooth’. But the Lord was putting an end to all of that and revealed that the Lord’s true intention and desire is for His beloved people to know His love and to be truly loving in all things, especially in how they ought to love their fellow brothers and sisters.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us hence consider carefully our actions in each and every moments of our lives so that we may always be loving to each other, be generous, kind and compassionate, especially to those who have need of our care and love. And let us never seek our own personal glory, ambition, satisfaction and personal fulfilment over the sufferings and hardships that others may have to experience because of our choice of actions and ways which may result indeed in even those among us as Christians to lose faith in the Lord by the scandal such actions have caused, whether we intended them or not. We have to keep in mind that as Christians, love and most generous love, kindness and compassion should be at the forefront of everything that we do in life.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father, continue to inspire in us all and strengthen us all in love, that by the imparting of the gift of love in our hearts, we may truly be inspired to love most generously and not be selfish in seeking our own comfort and salvation, but causing hurt and even harm to others around us. As true and genuine Christians, we must always be filled with pure, selfless and boundless love, following the example of the Lord Himself Who has loved us all so wonderfully. May the Lord bless our every endeavours and good efforts, now and always. Amen.