Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we should be humble as Christians and followers of the Lord. We should not be proud in our hearts and minds lest we may be tempted to think that we are better than all others and look down on others around us whom we disagree with. We should not allow hubris, pride and ego to be great stumbling blocks in our path, keeping us away from falling down into the wrong path in life and helping us to remain firm in our faith and commitment towards the Lord. If we remain humble and committed to the Lord, resisting the temptations and allures of pride and ego, we will eventually triumph with the Lord, and share in His eternal joy and glory in the end.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Corinth in which he spoke to the people of God about how they should not look upon themselves with an air and sense of superiority, thinking that they were better than others around them as they lived their lives with comfort and full of blessings in this world. On the contrary, St. Paul said that to be Christians, they ought to be more humble and more focused on the Lord, seeking to glorify God by their lives and not to allow themselves to be swayed by worldly ambitions and temptations, all of which could lead us all down the path towards our downfall and destruction. If we allow ourselves to be swayed and tempted by those allures of glory, fame and power, then we may end up losing sight on our true destination and purpose in life, that is to seek the path towards the Lord our God.
In our world today, we often face this issue of being tempted by our own pride and ego, our preoccupation with status and the privileges we have and enjoy in life, as we may find it hard to be told that what we are doing is not right and proper, or that there are others who know it better than us. That is why as Christians we must always cultivate the virtue of humility and obedience, to be humble in all things and to be willing to listen to others, especially to be willing to listen to the Lord and His words, embracing His truth and love, doing whatever it is that He has told us to do, and not to harden our hearts and minds against Him. It was pride that had led the devil himself to fall into sin, the pride and ambition of thinking that he could surpass God and became the ruler of all of Creation.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist in which we heard of how the Lord Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees who were following Him as He went about His ministry and works, and they criticised the actions of His disciples and followers who were picking the grains of wheat from the fields on the day of the Sabbath as they were very hungry, an activity which according to the interpretation and ideas of the Pharisees was forbidden as for the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, absolutely no action or activity could be carried out on the day of the Sabbath, a day in the week when the Israelites were told to stop their usual activities and spend their time to worship the Lord and to do what He has commanded to do, to focus their lives and attention once again to the Lord.
The intention of this Law of the Sabbath was actually very clear, and it was meant to help the people of God to remember that they are ultimately God’s holy and beloved people, and that the Lord should always be the centre and focus of their lives. It was meant to help them all to set aside a day to be spent with the Lord and not to be used for their usual worldly pursuits and businesses, so that they would not lose touch and contact with their Lord and God. However, many among the people misunderstood it, especially those Pharisees and teachers of the Law who interpreted the Law of the Sabbath without truly understanding the intention and purpose of this Law which the Lord had presented to us all to help us to find our way towards Him, and instead, they understood it in manner that is contrary to what the Lord had intended.
Essentially, they spent a lot more time bothering about the details and unnecessary emphasis on how the people ought to observe the Sabbath rules and laws rather than helping the people to appreciate the day of the Sabbath more. Not only that, but they have even also judged against all those who needed to live their lives and to do certain good and worthy actions on that day sacred to the Lord. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were essentially putting too much focus on the letter of the Law and not appreciating the spirit of the Law, as they judged that any kind of actions done on the day of the Sabbath as improper and unlawful, when the purpose of the Sabbath was to actually help the people of God to live their lives more in accordance with God’s ways and to do His will. Thus, criticising those who did good deeds on the Sabbath and making it inconvenient on those who were hungry and facing difficulties are not what they should have done.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of these are reminders for all of us that we should not merely be outwardly faithful to the Lord, and we are reminded that we should not be like the Pharisees whose pride and ego, in their thinking and ambitions, claiming that they were superior and better than others because of their ways of observing the Law and obeying the Law like those of the rules of the Sabbath, which they thought were appropriate and better than those done by others. As Christians, we must always remind ourselves not to be easily swayed and tempted by those temptations, and continue to keep ourselves humble and open-minded in receiving advice and guidance from others around us, and in learning how we can better live in a more appropriate and genuine way in being faithful to God, not just merely by outward appearances but also through wholehearted devotion and orientation towards Him in all things.
May the Lord, our ever patient and loving God and Father continue to help and guide us in our journey, strengthening us in our desire and commitment to walk in His path and to love Him, ever reminding ourselves and one another to put our focus and emphasis in our lives in the Lord, our Master and Creator. May God bless our every good efforts, works and deeds, in our every contributions and commitments so that we may always glorify Him by our every moments in life, by our exemplary inspirations in each and every moments, now and forevermore. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 