Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love of God that has been presented and made manifest to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people have all received the assurance of the Lord for His kindness, compassion and generosity. Each and every one of us as God’s beloved people have the privilege of being called as God’s own beloved children, as those whom He has chosen to be His own and to receive the wonders of His blessings and graces. We should be thankful and appreciative of everything that we had been blessed with by the Lord and strive to live our lives worthily of Him, while asking Him for help and guidance whenever we have need of them.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Galatia in part of what is now present day Turkey where the Apostle continued to speak to the people regarding the matters of how they ought to be truly be faithful and obedient to God, not by following the false leads and guidance from those who did not follow the Lord in the right manner, referring indirectly to the ways, beliefs and practices of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who often enforced a very rigid and legalistic way of observing and practicing the Law of God. But those people spent a lot of time, focus and emphasis on how the details and the various fine procedures on how the Law was to be practiced, yet, they failed to truly understand and appreciate the true meaning, intention and purpose of the Law.

Therefore, St. Paul was reminding the people of God that to be truly faithful to the Lord, they must always remember to truly understand the Lord’s Law, commandments, His will and teaching, the spirit of the Law rather than just the letter of the Law. Many of the people like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law focused so much on the letter of the Law, on external appearances and details that they had neglected what was truly important in following God, that is obedience and the willingness to listen to the Lord, Who has shown them the way and revealed to them the truth through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But those people refused to believe in the truth and persisted in their erroneous and incorrect ways because they were too full of pride and ego, ambition and desires in life, that they could not detach themselves from those temptations and fell ever deeper into the path of disobedience against God.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke in which the Lord told His disciples about how people will help another or a friend when this friend or someone has a need, and if the person seeks for help. Using that same analogy, the Lord therefore highlighted just how much more God will also help all those who seek His help, confide in His Presence and love, and entrust themselves to His care. God Who is our loving Father and Creator, our Lord and Master will not abandon us to the darkness, or ignore our cries and pleas for help. As long as we come to Him and open our hearts and minds to listen to Him, calling upon Him as our loving Father, He will respond to us and answer our pleas. While what we receive may not be what we desired and wanted, but God will respond to us in the manner according to His will.

This is why we must heed the message of this Gospel today, which was meant to remind us all not to easily lose faith and trust in the Lord, something which had happened to so many people all around the world. Many people no longer have truly genuine faith and trust in the Lord, and they did not live their lives with the Lord at the centre of their lives and existence anymore. Many of them even no longer regularly participate in the proper and genuine living and practice of their Christian faith, as we can easily count how many people still actually attend the weekly Sunday Masses and other practices and devotions of our faith, while so many others have simply stopped practicing their faith, and instead they put their efforts, commitment and trust in various other worldly means and methods, thinking that those things are better than God or what God can give them.

As Christians, each and every one of us are reminded to continue to have true and genuine faith in the Lord, and to be obedient and humble before Him, making ourselves to be truly attuned to God’s will, to what He wants us to do in each and every moments of our lives. All of us are invited to reorientate and refocus our lives once again upon the Lord if we have allowed ourselves to be swayed away from His path and grace. We should always keep in mind that how we live our lives is truly important because ultimately each and every one of us as disciples and children of God are seen by everyone around us and we may either lead others closer or further away from the Lord through our lives, our actions, words, deeds and interactions with one another.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do our best in our everyday life and at each and every moments and opportunities provided to us so that we may continue to be good role models and inspiration for everyone around us and that our lives and actions may truly reflect who we are as Christians, as God’s holy and worthy people, those whom He had called and chosen to be His own. Let us all continue to devote our time, effort and attention to do what God has asked us to do, and at the same time, we ourselves should continue to deepen our relationship with God, to get to know Him better and to be more prayerful in our lives. Let every moment of our lives be attuned closely to God by our efforts to constantly communicate with the Lord our God, so that we may truly know what He wants us to do, and how we should go forward and reach Him.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and compassionate Master continue to love us all most generously, and may He continue to strengthen and empower us all in our respective journey in life. May He bless our every works, efforts and endeavours, our every good attempts and all the things we say and do, in our interactions with one another, so that through these exemplary and inspirational deeds, we may lead ever more and more people towards the Lord and His salvation. May we grow ever more faithful and courageous in proclaiming the Good News of God in all of every moments of our lives, now and always. Amen.