Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 33 : 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
When the poor cry out, YHVH hears and saves them from distress. YHVH’s Angel encamps and patrols, to keep safe those who fear Him.
Revere YHVH, all you, His saints, for those who fear Him do not live in want. The mighty may be hungry and in need; but those who seek YHVH lack nothing.
Come, listen to me, my children; I will show you how to fear YHVH. If you desire long life; if you want to enjoy prosperity.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Genesis 21 : 5, 8-20
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. The child grew and on the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast. Sarah saw the child that Hagar, the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, mocking her son and she said to Abraham, “Send this slave girl and her son away; the child of this slave must not share the inheritance with my son, Isaac.”
This matter distressed Abraham because it concerned his son, but God said to him, “Do not be worried about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to Sarah and do whatever she says, because the race which is called by your name will spring from Isaac. But from the son of your servant I will also form a nation, for he too is your offspring.”
Abraham rose early next morning and gave bread and a skin bag of water to Hagar. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She went off and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When there was no more water in the skin, she pushed the boy under one of the bushes, and then went and sat down about a hundred yards away, for she thought, “I cannot bear to see my son die.”
But as she sat there, the child began to wail. God heard him and the Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying. Get up, pick the boy up and hold him safely, for I will make him into a great nation.”
God then opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness and became an expert archer.
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 love that God has for each and every one of us, all the guidance and help that He has provided to us from time to time, as He constantly watches over us, helping us in times of great distress, just as he had done to Lot and his family and to His own disciples when they were facing predicaments and troubles. God never abandoned those who are dear to Him, and He has always shown His kindness and patience in leading us all out of our troubles, and in our darkest times, God’s hands are actually always with us, and if only we can have more faith in Him, then surely we can be more assured and less worried, knowing that God is always there for us, no matter what.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Genesis, we heard of the moment when God told Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and his whole family to leave Sodom and Gomorrah through His Angels, whom He had sent to Sodom and Gomorrah with the purpose of rescuing Lot and his family. Abraham earlier on, if we recalled what we heard in yesterday’s Scripture readings, had pleaded with the Lord to spare both Sodom and Gomorrah if there were some righteous people that could be found there, including that of Lot and his family. Unfortunately, as the events unfolded, there was no one else who were considered righteous, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah doubled down on their wickedness and disobedience against God.
And hence, the destruction of those two cities proceeded as the Lord had intended it, but He did not let the righteous ones to suffer the same fate as the wicked, and that was why He guided Lot and his family out of danger, so that they would not get caught in the destruction that was to come upon Sodom and Gomorrah. And the whole family except that of Lot’s wife, who turned and looked upon the two cities, disobeying what the Angels of God had told her and her family, they all were saved and protected from harm in the end. In the end, we heard how God’s love and providence helped those who have been faithful to Him to endure and to survive through bitter hardships and challenges in life, and be saved and liberated in the end from all kinds of harm and troubles.
Then, similarly, as we have heard in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, the Lord intervened for the sake of His disciples when they were all assailed by the strong winds and waves battering against their boat in the middle of the Lake of Galilee. The disciples were afraid and fearful, despite some of them being fishermen themselves and should have been accustomed to such storm. That also gave us insight that the storm and the waves must have been particularly bad and terrible, for them to be so worried for their lives. They asked the Lord for help and the Lord chided them at first for having little and no faith in Him, and then He proceeded to calm the storm, which immediately ceased upon His orders.
This is a reminder for all of us that even when we are facing troubles, hardships, challenges and difficulties in life, we must always have faith in the Lord and we must not give up despite the temptations, pressures and coercions to do so. As Christians, we and the Church will surely face challenges, trials and hardships, oppositions and difficulties in our paths, as we have likely experienced ourselves in our past experiences and lives as well. But this is where this event of the Lord calming the storm for His disciples is a reminder for all of us that no matter how tough things may be for us, we must never give up and we must still have faith and hope in the Lord, because if we choose to abandon Him and find other means to save ourselves, we will surely fall into destruction instead.
Why is that so? Those disciples had the choice of whether they stayed in the boat and trusted in the Lord, or to abandon the boat to save themselves, but they chose, despite being fearful and afraid, to put their faith in Him and begged Him for help. Should any one of them choose to abandon the boat, more likely than not, in the great intensity of the storm and the waves, they would have been swept away and drowned in the water. And there is also deep symbolism in this boat and the disciples within it, as the Church itself is often represented as a ship or a boat, and the disciples within that boat symbolises all of us, God’s holy and beloved people, the members of the same Church of God, and as we can see in that event, the Lord was with His disciples, even in the most troubled times.
Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, can we ourselves also put our faith and trust in the Lord in the same manner as well? As we have been reminded from how the Lord rescued Lot and his family, and how He calmed the storm and the waves for His disciples, therefore we should also have that strong and enduring faith, believing that with God everything is possible and there is nothing that God cannot do for us in helping and providing for us. We should always hold firmly to the promise and assurance from God, and believe that with Him we can do great things beyond what we can do alone, and with God by our side, we will not falter and be dissuaded in our efforts to walk in the path that the Lord has shown and revealed to us. And as Christians, it is important that we continue to be faithful in the Lord at all times, even in the most difficult moments, knowing that with God, we will eventually overcome all those difficulties.
May the Lord, our most loving God, continue to help and strengthen us in our journey in faith, so that no matter what hardships and obstacles we may encounter in our paths in life, we will always persevere and remain faithful in the Lord, remaining firm in our conviction, dedication and desire to glorify the Lord always at all times by our exemplary and worthy lives. May God be with us always and may He empower each and every one of us to serve Him in whatever capacities that He had entrusted to us, and also in helping one another, our fellow brothers and sisters, in overcoming our troubles and difficulties, showing care, concern and compassion at all times, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 8 : 23-27
At that time, Jesus got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Without warning, a fierce storm burst upon the lake, with waves sweeping the boat. But Jesus was asleep.
The disciples woke Him up and cried, “Lord save us! We are lost!” But Jesus answered, “Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?” Then He stood up and rebuked the wind and sea; and it became completely calm.
The disciples were astonished. They said, “What kind of Man is He? Even the winds and the sea obey Him.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 25 : 2-3, 9-10, 11-12
Prove me, o YHVH, put me to the test; examine my soul and my heart. For Your love is ever before my eyes, and I live in truth and faithfulness.
Let me not share the fate of sinners, nor lose my life with the violent; their hands are guilty of crimes, their right hands are weighed down with bribes.
But I will walk in integrity, redeem me, o God, be gracious to me. My foot stands firm in the straight path, I will praise You, o YHVH, in Your assemblies.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Genesis 19 : 15-29
At daybreak the Angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and two daughters who are here, lest they perish because of the sin of the town.” As he hesitated, the men took him by the hand and his wife and two daughters with him, because YHVH had mercy on him. And they led him outside the town.
When they were outside, the visitors said to him, “Flee for your life and do not look back and do not stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountain lest you perish.” But Lot replied, “My lords, your servant has found favour with you, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die.”
“See, there is a town near enough for me to flee to and it is a small one. Let me flee there : it is very small (that is why the town is called Zoar). So I will be safe.” And the Angel answered, “I grant you this favour as well by not destroying the town you speak of. But flee fast for I can do nothing until you arrive there.”
The sun had risen on the earth when Lot reached Zoar. Then YHVH rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur out of the heavens from YHVH, and He completely destroyed those towns and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the towns and everything that grew there. Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt.
Early next morning Abraham returned to the place where he had stood before YHVH. He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and towards all the land of the valley and he saw smoke rising from the earth like the smoke from a furnace. So when God destroyed the towns of the plain He remembered Abraham and made Lot escape from the catastrophe while He destroyed the cities where Lot had lived.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the love and compassion which the Lord has shown to us all, His faithful and beloved people. We are reminded of the generous mercy and kindness which He has shown all of us, by His constant efforts in forgiving us all from our sins and in being patient with us despite us having frequently and constantly disobeyed Him from time to time again. He has even sent us His only Begotten Son to our midst so that by His coming into this world, He may become for us all the source of salvation and hope, and lead us all to Himself once again, reconciling us sinners with Him and allowing us all to find our way back to Him, our loving God and Father.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis the account of the conversation between Abraham and God when he found out about God’s plan to bring about the destruction of the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the great sins and wickedness which they had committed before the Lord, and for their stubbornness in remaining in such sins and wickedness. But Abraham also knew and was aware that his own nephew, Lot and his family dwelled in the lands of Sodom and Gomorrah, and hence, should God bring about destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah, it might have led to harm to Lot and his family too, as with any other righteous people who might be found there in those two places as well. Hence, Abraham went on a series of conversations and requests to the Lord, asking Him to show mercy and withhold His destruction should there be some of those who were righteous in those two places.
God then repeatedly answered and reassured Abraham as he kept on asking about the fate and well-being of those righteous who might be found in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, that for his sake and his faith in Him, He would not punish and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah should there be any of the righteous remaining in those places, as he has asked of Him. However, as we ought to know that there was only so few of the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah, essentially only Lot and his own immediate family, that not even what Abraham had asked of the Lord could be done. In the end, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone from Heaven, but not before the Lord sent His Angels to help rescue Lot and his family to safety.
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was asked by a teacher of the Law who told Him that he would follow Him wherever He would go, and the Lord told this teacher of the Law that following Him would mean moving from place to place, having no stable and steady place for him and anyone else following Him to stay at, and that commitment to follow Him often required them, that is His disciples to dedicate themselves, their time and effort to follow Him and do the works that He has entrusted them to do. And therefore, that was why the Lord asked for commitment from those who have asked Him to be His followers, as if they were still divided and unsure about what they wanted, it would be difficult for them to be truly His disciples and followers.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, first of all, we have to understand this from the context of what the disciples of the Lord did at that time, as the teacher of the Law asked of the Lord, his intentions was quite clear that he wanted to be like those members of the Twelve, the disciples that were always around the Lord and always helped Him to carry out His missions and works. And such missions and works would require one to be thoroughly committed to the cause, and hence, it was imperative that those who wanted to follow the Lord in this manner ought to be truly committed and not be divided in their attention and thoughts. This is essentially what those who have committed themselves to the calling to priesthood and religious life in our Church today have also done as well.
In another occasion, the Lord also told His disciples and those who followed Him, that none of those who have devoted themselves to Him, their effort and time, and all of their works would be ignored and abandoned by the Lord. In fact, the Lord knows all that they have done for Him and hence, if we are truly faithful to the Lord, in the end, we will be vindicated and will be triumphant with Him. There is nothing that the Lord does not know, and as long as we continue to do our best to entrust ourselves to Him and to fully have faith in Him regardless of the challenges and trials that we may encounter, then in the end, we will find true joy and satisfaction in the Lord, our most loving and faithful God.
Today, the Church also celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church. This feast, which is celebrated on the day after the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Holy Apostles and Patron Saints of Rome, has a special significance for the Church in Rome, referring to the Diocese of Rome, of which our Pope is the bishop of, and as the leader of the whole entire Church and particularly as part of the Roman Rite, we have this special connection with the Church of Rome and its bishop, as well as its past and history, in which today we recall the memory of all those who have been martyred together with the two Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, during the first great persecution of Christians in Rome.
At that time, the Christian Church has been growing and flourishing in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero after Christian missionaries have reached the capital of the Roman Empire during their missions, and the arrival of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Paul the Apostle no doubt strengthened those missionary efforts, with St. Peter having become the first Bishop of Rome and thus the leader of the local Church on top of his responsibilities as the head of the whole Universal Church, while St. Paul in his great missionary zeal and efforts to proclaim the faith and the Good News to the people, especially to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people. However, as the number of Christians continued to grow, it began to lead to frictions with the traditional Roman pagan beliefs and traditions.
And at the time, the Emperor Nero, who was infamous for his lack of morality and his megalomaniac behaviour, began to come into friction with different segments of the Roman state and governance, which eventually would lead to his downfall and overthrow in the Year 68 AD. However, about four years prior to this event, Emperor Nero instigated a great fire in Rome, which many historical evidences pointed out to him being the mastermind behind the events. And he blamed the fire on the Christian populations in Rome, which had already been poorly regarded by the people of Rome, as scapegoats so that the Emperor could get away with his wicked ideas and plans. As a result, many of the Roman Christians were martyred, and it is their memory whom we remember today.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we remember the great faith and courage which the first martyrs of the Church of Rome has shown amidst the great trials and challenges facing them, let us all be inspired by their examples so that we ourselves may continue to serve the Lord faithfully at all times, dedicating ourselves to His cause to the best of our abilities. May the Lord be with us always and may He encourage us all to be ever strong in out commitment to walk courageously in the path that He has shown us, and bless our every good efforts and works. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Matthew 8 : 18-22
At that time, when Jesus saw the crowd pressing around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. A teacher of the Law approached Him; and said, “Master, I will follow You wherever You go.”
Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead.”
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 10-11
Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His Holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.
He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.
YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger; He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever.
He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve. As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Genesis 18 : 16-33
The men went away and turned towards Sodom. Abraham walked with them to set them on their way. And YHVH said, “Can I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham, in fact, is going to become a great and powerful nation and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed, for I have chosen him to command his sons and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that YHVH may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.”
Then YHVH said, “How great is the cry for justice against Sodom and Gomorrah! And how grievous is their sin! I am going down to see if they have done all that they are charged with in the outcry that has reached Me. If it is not so, I will know.” The men with Him turned away and went towards Sodom, but YHVH remained standing before Abraham.
Abraham went forward and said, “Will You really let the just perish with the wicked? Perhaps there are fifty good people in the town. Are You really going to let them perish? Would You not spare the place for the sake of these fifty righteous people? It would not be at all like You to do such a thing and You cannot let the good perish with the wicked, nor treat the good and the wicked alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth be just?” YHVH said, “If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham spoke up again, “I know that I am very bold to speak like this to my Lord, I who am only dust and ashes! But perhaps the number of the good is five less than fifty. Will You destroy the town because of the five?” YHVH replied, “I will not destroy the town if I find forty-five good people there.” Again Abraham said to him, “Perhaps there will be only forty.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”
Abraham went on, saying, “May my Lord not be angry, but let me speak. Maybe only thirty good people will be found in the town.” YHVH answered, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty there.” Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to my Lord, what if only twenty can be found?” He said, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy the place.”
But Abraham insisted, “May my Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found?” And YHVH answered, “For the sake of ten good people, I will not destroy Sodom.” When YHVH had finished speaking with Abraham, He left and Abraham went home.
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