Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we all ponder upon their message and importance in our lives, particularly as we progress through this time and season of Lent, let us all continue to reflect carefully on how each of these words can impact us in our lives and in how we live our lives. We must be mindful that our every words, actions and deeds reflect our identity as Christians and our part in the works of the Lord through His Church in this world. If our actions, words and deeds are contrary to what He has shown us all in love and compassion, then in the end, we may end up bringing about scandals that can hurt the whole Church and the efforts of evangelisation.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the Lord’s call to His people, the people of Israel while referring to the historical ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, calling on all of them to repent from their many sins and faults, from their wickedness and disobedience, their refusal to obey the Law of God and their persistent rebellion against the commandments of the Lord and the path that God has set before them. The reference to Sodom and Gomorrah was a reference to the destruction which God had wrought against those two cities that had been committing great sins against God and others alike.

However, lest we may end up misunderstanding the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, unlike the prejudices that had happened in the past history of the Church, it has been long misinterpreted that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah referred to certain kind of sexual sin and perversion. Instead, the actual sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was in fact one of the lack of hospitality shown to guests and strangers in one’s midst, their lack of social justice and care for the needy and the poor, as well as morally corrupt actions which in no way prejudiced or make wrong any particular sexual preference or identity, as what was commonly misinterpreted by many throughout history.

And that was why God punished Sodom and Gomorrah, as they showed severe lack of hospitality against Lot and his family, whom they saw as strangers and foreigners that did not belong in their community, and their attempted assault on the two guests, the disguised Angels of God, more as a way to discredit and as contempt against Lot and his family, whom they had never welcomed into their midst. It was this same attitude which the Israelites had also exhibited during the time of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah. They persecuted the prophets and messengers of God sent into their midst in order to remind and guide them in their paths, and treated them as strangers and foreigners in their own land, much like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

But God was kind and loving to His people nonetheless, and He kept on offering them path to redemption, opening the floodgates of His ever generous mercy and compassion to all. He sent His prophets again and again, like Isaiah and his many predecessors and successors to help lead and guide those wayward yet beloved people of His back to His loving Presence. This kind of patient love is the Lord has always offered His people, and as long as they wanted to come back to Him, He will always welcome them, care for them and nurture them. However, if they so choose to completely reject Him and abandon Him, then in the end, it will be their own stubbornness and rejection which will be the reason judging against them.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples and followers that all of them should not practice their faith in the manner that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had practiced theirs, in their hypocrisy and attitudes which were self-centred and selfish, focusing on their own status, privileges and special position in the community of the people of God, seeking attention and praise from everyone around them. It is this attitude which prevented them from truly being able to follow the Law and commandments of the Lord in the manner that is truly worthy and suitable of the Lord.

What the Lord told the disciples were often mistaken and misunderstood in the context of the Church, as some people criticised the Church for having titles like Pope, Cardinal, Bishop and Father, in referring to the priests of different ranks in the hierarchy of the Church. What the Lord meant was not that He was against all those titles, which were indeed necessary in the scheme of things, but rather, He does not want us to become so preoccupied by those titles and privileges, as the Pharisees had done at that time, that we become proud and self-centred, forgetting that our faith and what we believe in, and whatever we do and carry out in that faith are all not about ourselves, but about how we manage our relationship with God and with one another.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, it is very important that all of us continue to live faithfully in the path the Lord has prepared for us, and loving generously in the manner that He has loved us all first. Let us all be grateful in whatever way He has created us all to be, in whatever He has called us all to do, in loving Him and in loving one another, especially to those whom He has entrusted to us all to love, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, people may indeed come to know that we truly belong to the Lord, and that we truly genuinely believe in whatever we profess to have faith in. May God bless us always, and may He strengthen us all in each and every moments of our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.