Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that as Christians, that is as those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His own, each and every one of us are called to be good role models and inspirations in our faith, and especially more so for those among us who have been chosen for specific ministries and vocations in the Church, but this at the same time does not mean that for the rest of us as God’s disciples and followers that we should not also do our best to follow what the Lord Himself has shown and taught us to do in our every day moments in life. Each and every one of us also have the important obligation to carry out our lives in the manner that is truly pleasing and in accordance with the Lord’s path.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy in which heard the continuation of what the Apostle wrote to his protege, St. Timothy with regards to the matter of how one ought to lead a life of virtue and faith in God, especially for all those whom the Lord had called to certain ministries and called to be the ones to lead His disciples and followers, as St. Timothy and others had been called to do, as one of the first and earliest overseers or bishops of the Church, as the shepherds of the Lord’s faithful. These people had been entrusted with the gifts from God through the laying of hands by the Apostles themselves, and had received the wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit, which St. Paul therefore exhorted St. Timothy and the other overseers or bishops to carry out dutifully in their lives and ministries.

Through what St. Paul shared to St. Timothy, it is a reminder that is truly essential for one to be truly committed and faithful to the mission entrusted to each one of us as Christians, as those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His own. To each and every one of us, in our various and respective areas in life, we have received unique sets of gifts, talents, abilities and opportunities which we therefore ought to make good use of in our lives so that we may truly glorify the Lord in each moments and through even the smallest things that we do, by being ever more generous in how we give our time, effort and attention for the benefit of the salvation of many souls, of countless people whom we encounter in our lives, each day and at every moments.

In our Gospel passage today then, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was invited to a meal in the house of a Pharisee, where His actions and words were carefully watched by the Pharisees who were present there, and we heard then of how a sinful woman came to the Lord, and her next action would baffle the Pharisees whose prejudices prevented them from truly seeing what the Lord had taught and shown them all those while. Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, has always shown His kindness, love and compassion towards all those who have lapsed and been lost amidst the sins and darkness of this world. He manifested God’s great and ever generous, enduring mercy and compassion towards each and every one of us.

As such, when the sinful woman came and appraoched the Lord, anointing His feet with expensive perfume and wet the same feet of the Lord with her own tears and wiped them with her own hair, this event was truly rich in symbolism, one that is contrasted with the pride, haughtiness and arrogance of the Pharisees. For the context, the Pharisees at that time were the religious and intellectual elites of the community of God’s faithful people, the Jewish people, and they liked to flaunt their piety and dedication to God for everyone to see. They prayed loudly and very visibly in public places, so that people would praise them and cheer them for their piety, and all these further fed their ego and ambitions, as they sought glory and fame amongst other things in their status within the community.

And on top of that, many among them also often had prejudices against those whom they deemed to be unworthy of God and His salvation. All these attitudes and actions were criticised by the Lord Who told all those assembled there that the ones who have shown greater repentance and been forgiven more will indeed be forgiven more such as what the sinful woman had experienced, and would indeed appreciate such forgiveness more as compared to the Pharisees themselves. It was a criticism directed against those religious and intellectual elites who knew nothing better than to criticise those whom they disagreed with, and those whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy than they were. And in all these elitist and exclusivist attitudes, they had forgotten that they themselves were sinners in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, as we all recalled the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we reflected on what we have just discussed earlier, let us all continue to strive to be truly committed to God and to be truly humble in everything that we say and do. We should not be haughty or arrogant in our way of living, like those who have prided themselves in their ways, those Pharisees and the religious and societal elites who thought that they were better than everyone else. Instead, as Christians, as God’s disciples and followers, each and every one of us are challenged to be ever more humble and faithful in our ways. This means that in everything that we say and do, we should always seek to be humble and not be distracted by the many temptations present all around us.

Let us all therefore seek to be ever more faithful to the Lord and to the path which He has shown to each and every one of us. Let us always do our very best so that our way of life may always be exemplary and inspirational to everyone whom we encounter around us. May all of us follow the humility of the sinful woman who sought the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy, honouring and praising her through her sorrows and regret for her many sins. Let us all continue to follow the Lord ever more faithfully and strive our best to glorify God in each and every moments by our lives, now and always. Amen.