Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard how the Lord had sent His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, to be our Saviour, to bring us from the darkness and into the light. Through Christ, He had brought us away from the certainty of death and from the dominion of Satan and his allies. And from us He had cast out the demons and the evil spirits that dwelled inside us, and in its place, He places within us His Word, His own Divine Presence, and the Holy Spirit.

The Lord has come to deliver us from the forces of evil that assailed us, and He has come to bring us from the punishments which were designed for us, because of our sins and our rebellions against God. We are the children of the Light, greatest and most beloved among all of God’s creations, and we were special, but because of our inability to resist our temptations, that brought about our fall from grace.

We would rather follow the devil’s instructions and accept his offers, because it seems to be more lucrative and beneficial for us. That is because the devil knows exactly what we have in us, our desires and wants, and he is tapping on those to bring about our downfall. Satan was once the prince of the heavenly forces and the greatest, most brilliant and mightiest of the angels of God, Lucifer, the lightbringer, but he was brought down by his own pride and wickedness.

As he fell from grace, Satan must have been jealous on the glory and grace that God had bestowed on men, on our ancestors, for He created them to be His most beloved and greatest creatures. Therefore, just as He has fallen from grace and was cast down, he was likely determined to bring us down with him as well. That was why he tempted Adam and Eve, and their failure to keep up their faith brought about their fall as well.

But God is a loving God, who loves us all very greatly beyond compare. Even though we have sinned before Him, and even though He hates our sins and wickedness, but He still has His love for us. For we were created to share in His love, in His very own image, and to us He has given dominion over all creations. But we were unable to match up to what the Lord expected of us.

Yet, He is still willing to give us a chance, just as He had given those who came before us many, many chances at repentance and forgiveness. He openly offered His mercy, and through Jesus, He made it clear that sinners may come to Him and be freed from the bonds that had held them, namely the bonds of sin. The Lord cast out the evil spirits from them, and in this, He showed all that He values us more than anything else.

Now we also have to realise that, as powerful, mighty and scary the devil is, or his allies, they all have no power against God who is all powerful and Almighty. No matter what hubris the devil had lavished and shown, even he, being a mere angel, mighty as he was, is still subject to the Lord, who is his Lord and God, as painful and as horrible as it is for Satan to admit this fact.

He tried to undermine and to stop the Lord’s work at saving His people, by condemning them before His presence, as he had done with Job, and when he was unsuccessful, he continued to pester us, and tempted us all the more, trying hopefully to steer us far away from finding the salvation in God. And in the end, he even tried to tempt Jesus Himself, not knowing that He is God, the Divine Word who took up the flesh of Man.

Jesus made it clear that He had the authority over the evil spirits, just as He is the Master and Lord of all things. And He wants all sinners and those troubled in heart to be healed and to be brought back to the grace of God. This is what He wanted, and what He had done for us, even unto bearing the cross of sins and sufferings and died for us on Calvary.

God had done so much for us, and He has been willing to go the extra mile to help us and deliver us from certain destruction because of our own actions and faithlessness. Shall we do the same as well? It is just right and honourable for us all to return Him the love and dedication He had shown us. And how do we do so? It is by living righteously and sinning no more, and in all of our words and actions, let us all always be mindful of the Lord and His love for us.

Let us all bless the Lord and let us from now on walk again in His path, so that by doing so, we will be found just and worthy to receive the eternal life and the fullness of grace and inheritance He had promised all who remain faithful to Him. Let us all reject and rebuke Satan and all of his lies, and all of his wicked temptations and falsehoods, and let us seek and worship the Lord our God alone. God bless us all. Amen.