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 God’s faithful and beloved people, all of us are expected to live our lives well in the manner that He has shown and taught us to do, and we all ought to carry out our actions faithfully such that we can become good role models for everyone around us in serving the Lord and glorifying Him by our lives. And God knows all of our dealings, actions and deeds. He knows everything that we say and do, even those that we try to hide and even things that we may not even be aware of. This is why we have to be always ever ready to commit ourselves to the Lord in our every actions, words and deeds, and not merely paying lip service to Him, but being truly faithful to Him at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we heard of the great hymn of thanksgiving, a song of praise that King David of Israel sang to the Lord with great joy because God has reassured him of blessings and graces towards him and his family, to all of his descendants, who would always be guaranteed the rulership and dominion of the kingdom of Israel, God’s beloved and holy people. That was why David was so jubilant, happy and thankful for the Lord having provided for him throughout many different parts of his life, as if we read more from the history of King David, we can see clearly how God had been with him in all of his endeavours, from the good times to the difficult and challenging times.

And David had always been faithful to the Lord, and while he did commit mistakes and sins, he did not allow all those things and obstacles to prevent him from continuing to serve the Lord as best as he could, and he became truly revered, honoured and respected throughout the history of the Israelites among the people of God and even by many others throughout history because of all of these virtues which he had accumulated and practiced during his life and reign as king. King David became the model and good king which many other kings, both of Israel and Judah, and other later Christian kings aspired to follow and emulate in their own reign as king and ruler of the people entrusted to them by God.

David shone with great virtue and righteousness, becoming a great moral compass and inspiration for many others because he was not ashamed to proclaim his faith in God despite his own shortcomings, mistakes and faults. He courageously and joyfully showed his great faith and trust in the Lord, and his great love for God at all times, and he always strived to be a better version of himself, following the will of God and allowing Him to make use of him as an instrument of His works in the world, that he righteously led the people of God in the manner that is acceptable and worthy of God, and also becoming great inspiration and examples for everyone who have seen and witnessed his great deeds, triumphs and victories with God by his side.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples and followers in which the Lord told His disciples using a parable of the light on a lampstand to highlight to them how it is important that they all do not hide what talents, gifts, blessings and opportunities that God has given to each and every one of them, much like how King David earlier had openly practiced his faith actively in his life and reign as king. Therefore, the disciples and followers of the Lord, who had been given the many gifts, talents, blessings, and all the opportunities presented to them to be the bearers of the Good News and Light of God, they are all called to be active in proclaiming God in all things.

The Lord also continued on with the words reminding those same disciples and followers about the matter of the measure of what they have given and what they have been expected to receive because of what they have given, and this was yet another reminder that as Christians, as faithful and committed disciples and followers of the Lord, each and every one of those disciples, and also all of us living here today in this world are expected to make good use of all the blessings, wonders and all the good things that God has granted to us. God blessed us each and every one of us with these so that His works and wonders can be extended to more and more people, as we must understand that our actions and efforts, no matter how small, are parts of the efforts of the whole Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to reflect upon these words of the Scriptures that we have received from the Lord, and all that we have discussed earlier. Let us all do our best so that in every actions, words and deeds that we do, we will always be good role models and examples for one another, so that like King David and our other holy predecessors, we can inspire many others we encounter in our lives, in each and every moments, in all the opportunities that God has presented to us. If the actions of Christians like us are contrary to the ways of the Lord and His teachings, and to what the Church has presented to us and the world, how can we then genuinely bring the Lord to be better known to others around us? Worse still, it may even push people away from the Lord.

May the Lord our most loving, compassionate and patient God continue to help and guide each one of us in our respective journeys in life, in each and every one of our missions and vocations in life so that we will truly find what it is that we ought to be doing faithfully in God’s Presence, in doing His will and obeying His Law and commandments. Let us all continue to do our best and follow God’s calling and encouragement to us, and help one another to be ever always faithful to our own respective calling in life, being good, worthy and responsible Christians, disciples and followers of the Lord at all times. Amen.