Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we all ponder together its meaning and importance to us, we are reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and chosen people, those whom He has called and loved from among the nations, we are all bearers of His truth, love and Good News, and we have received from Him the assurance of His love and providence, and we should never be afraid to follow Him wholeheartedly because God is indeed always ever faithful to His Covenant and promises to us, His beloved ones. He will never abandon us no matter what, and we should therefore appreciate just how much He has loved us all that He gave us the ultimate gift in His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, we heard of the words of the Apostle speaking to the people of God regarding the need for all of them to put their faith and trust in the Lord because it is in the Lord alone that we can find true wisdom, support, strength and encouragement which surpassed anything that this world or any worldly means and designs can provide for us. God will provide us with whatever we need, and we have to trust in Him and have faith in Him, faith that is strong and unshakeable, believing that with God everything is possible and that with His guidance and help, we shall be able to overcome whatever challenges and trials that may come our way.

That is why as Christians, as those who have chosen to follow the Lord, all the more that we should always trust in the Lord’s Providence at all times, in His Wisdom and guidance, knowing that He alone can provide us with steady and most reliable guidance, help and reassurance in our paths in life. Even through hardships and difficulties, all of us can indeed depend on the Lord to help and guide us in our paths so that we may continue to walk confidently forward knowing that God will always give us steady path and guidance, helping us to overcome the struggles and challenges in the end. And while we may have to suffer, but we know that we do not suffer and endure the hardships alone, as the Lord is always by our side, protecting us and helping us.

And we must also not forget that the Lord Himself has suffered too, and His sufferings and pains surpassed anything that we likely ever experienced or will experience in our lives, considering how He bore upon Him not just the weight of His wooden cross, but far heavier than that, as He bore upon that cross, the weight of all of our faults, sins and mistakes, and offering Himself on the Altar of that Cross at Calvary, He has offered on all of our behalf, the perfect offering and sacrifice which is befitting to redeem us all from all those sins. As the Lamb of God, He has broken for us His own Most Precious Body and poured His Most Precious Blood, so that through the sharing of His Precious Body and Blood, He might reveal to us all the perfection of God’s love and grace.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord’s frustration and disbelief at the people that He encountered, especially the Pharisees among them who kept on doubting Him and kept on asking Him in many occasions to prove Himself, asking Him to provide signs, wonders and miracles that they demanded of Him to verify His identity, authority and authenticity. But the reality was that the Lord had in fact already shown them many signs, wonders and miracles throughout His works, to those same Pharisees and people who had been witnessing His signs and miracles, and yet, they kept hardening their hearts and minds, and refused to believe in Him and in those signs.

That was why the Lord was very critical at them and rebuked them for their lack of faith and belief in Him, despite everything which He had done to show them about Himself and all that He has revealed to them in Wisdom and power. As long as they continued to harden their hearts and minds, and refused to listen to the Lord, then therefore none of those signs and wonders would have done anything to convince them. And contextually, those Pharisees were those who were very proud of their intellectual superiority and high status in the community of the people of God, and they often looked down on those whom they disagreed with, including that of the Lord and His followers, which was why they were always opposed to His works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed these words of the Scriptures, reminding us all that we have to trust in the Lord and His love for us, His ever generous and constant kindness, grace and love, which He has shown us all most patiently, most wonderfully, and the greatest of which is by Him sending unto us His own Beloved Son, His most Precious and perfect gift for us. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, all of us have received the assurance of God’s most wonderful and ever enduring love, and we should indeed appreciate the fact of just how beloved and treasured all of us have been by our loving God and Father. Let us all trust in His love and providence, and continue to walk faithfully with Him.

May the Lord continue to strengthen us all in our paths and journeys, in all the things that we do, so that by our continued commitment and dedication, we will continue to be good examples and role models for one another, in our faith and dedication to God, in our commitment to walk ever more gracefully and wonderfully in the path of the Lord. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.