Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that we should always be vigilant in living our lives, in striving to be always living with virtue, temperance and moderation, in following what the Lord Himself had taught us to do, and in resisting the many pressures, temptations and many other worldly desires, ambitions and all the things that can leaf us astray in our respective paths towards the Lord. As Christians, all of us are reminded that we should always do our best in showing good examples of our actions, words and deeds, rooted firmly in our faith in God so that by our each and every one of them, we may inspire many more people to follow God and to know Him through us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle in which the Apostle spoke about the fact of how the faithful people of God, those to whom the Apostles and the missionaries had proclaimed and introduced the salvation in Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour, had received the revelation of God’s love and truth, as well as the guidance and wisdom through the gift of the Holy Spirit that had been imparted to them at their baptism, so that each and every one of them might indeed know how they all ought to live their lives according to the way and manner that God Himself has shown and taught them, and inspired them all through the Holy Spirit. And each one of them were indeed called to put their trust and faith in God, and to live virtuously.

Therefore St. Peter encouraged the faithful in the various communities that he addressed this letter and epistle to, in order to encourage and strengthen their faith, to be willing to walk ever more courageously in the path that the Lord had led them through. There would indeed be plenty of trials and challenges, hardships and difficulties in their paths, but they need to continue to uphold their beliefs and what they had been called to do, to be truly righteous, virtuous and just in everything that they do, in doing what is right for them as the people of God. And this is therefore a reminder to all of us as well so that we may also do our best in living our lives in this way so that we may touch the hearts and the lives of others around us, by our faith and our dedication to God, and by the love we show to those whom we love and care for.pe

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples with the parable of the wicked and evil tenants, in which story was highlighted how the tenants who were entrusted with the care of the lands and fields that the landowner had put in their care and responsibilities, acted up against him and refused to fulfil their part of the obligation, refusing to pay their fees and dues unlike what they had already agreed and likely had signed contracts on as part of their tenancy agreement. It was likely implied that their greed, ambition and desires had led them to commit such heinous and wicked actions as described in that parable.

We heard how they refused to listen to the servants sent to them to remind them, persecuting, attacking and even murdering them. And it culminated in them committing an even greater error in attacking and murdering the son of the landowner whom the latter had sent to them, thinking that they would at least respect and listen to his son. If we carefully look through the parable again, we can see how the Lord Jesus used this parable to highlight what had happened and how the people of God themselves had treated the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them to remind them, represented by those servants, while also predicting at the same time how they would treat the Son of God, referring to Himself, in how they would persecute Him and crush Him with sufferings and death.

Through what we have heard in today’s passage from this parable of the evil and wicked tenant, we are reminded that it is also by our own wickedness and evils, our attachments to worldly ambitions, greed and desires that we have behaved like those evil and wicked tenants. And yet, God still sent to us, again and again so many help and reminders, despite our rejections and attitudes in refusing to listen to Him. God’s love for us is truly unconditional, especially in how He has loved us all and gave us all the best and ultimate gift in His own Son, Whom He had given us all to be our Saviour. Through His wounds, all the hurts and sufferings that He had endured, Christ our Lord and Saviour had brought us all the assurance of eternal life and salvation, opening the path to Heaven itself.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Justin, a great saint and man of God and a holy martyr of the Church and the Christian faith. St. Justin is a great example for all of us in how he completely dedicated his life to the service of God and in his persistence in enduring all the challenges and persecutions he faced, even right up to the moment of his martyrdom, always full of faith and commitment to God. St. Justin was a Greek man who converted to the Christian faith when he encountered an old man, who was likely a Syrian Christian by the seashore, and engaged with him in a dialogue about God, convincing him that the faith in God, His prophets and messengers are far better and superior than engaging in the wisdom and debates of the philosophers, as St. Justin was searching for the meaning of life and truth back then.

Afterwards, St. Justin dedicated himself wholly to the pursuit of the Good News, convinced fully of the message of the truth which Christ Our Lord has brought unto us, and which the Lord has revealed to us with His coming, and through the Holy Spirit that has been sent unto us all. St. Justin proclaimed the Lord henceforth, all of His truth and Good News, and began teaching as a Christian philosopher, gathering quite a number of people who were convinced by what he has been preaching about the Lord, with great wisdom and zeal. St. Justin and some of his students, according to Church traditions, were persecuted and martyred by the Roman authorities during one of the episodes of the persecution of Christians. He remained firm and resolute in his faith right up to the very end, inspiring countless generations of Christians afterwards.

May the Lord continue to guide each and every one of us, and may He empower all of us to live ever more graciously and with greater commitment in His Presence, according to His will, and be inspired by the great examples of our holy predecessors, His great servants, like St. Justin and many others. May He help us to overcome the temptations of worldly greed, ambitions and desires, and help us to follow Him wholeheartedly and faithfully at all times, in each and every one of our words, actions and deeds, at all times. May He bless our works and efforts, and all of our endeavours for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.