Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the challenges and hardships that we may encounter amidst our lives in faith, as we are carrying out our responsibilities and works as Christians, in the midst of our communities and areas of life, where we may face opposition and resistance, rejection and even persecution for all that we do for God’s sake. But all those things should not discourage us from following the Lord and His path, as each and every one of us are reminded to remain firm in our faith and to be ever more committed to do our best, in obeying God’s Law and commandments, and in being great role models and inspirations for one another, in how we live our lives in the path that God has shown and taught us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians, we heard of the words of the Apostles in encouraging and strengthening the disciples, followers and the faithful people of God there in that city and region, in how each and every one of them should continue to do what is right, just and virtuous in the sight of God, as they had done, despite the many challenges and trials that they might face in doing so, citing his own experiences and examples in how he himself had served the Lord faithfully, enduring hardships, trials, challenges and persecutions throughout his whole life, works and ministry. St. Paul’s life and ministry were truly great inspiration and help for many other early Christians who were facing similar trials and hardships.

These, together with the many other lives and examples of the early Church martyrs and saints, reminded the early Christian faithful that they should not easily give up the struggle in proclaiming the Good News and the truth of God, as the Lord has provided all of them with the strength, courage and guidance through His Holy Spirit and through the help and inspiration that they have received through their fellow Christian brethren. They were all called to have faith in the Lord and to trust in Him, because in Him alone that they all can gain full and complete satisfaction and deliverance from their troubles and hardships. God did not abandon them to the darkness and evil, and He was always with them throughout their journey, and thus all of us are also reminded to do the same as well, that is to put our full trust and faith in God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when the Lord healed a man who suffered from a paralysis of his right hand, in which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were closely following Him to hear His teachings and in the case of His healing of the paralysed man, they were there to see if the Lord would heal the man on the day of the Sabbath, with the intention to accuse Him if He did so. This was because the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at that time were very much focused and preoccupied with very strict and rigid understanding and interpretation of the Jewish Law and customs, which saw them enforcing and applying the very harsh and restrictive provisions and customs of the Law on the people of God. This enforcement and rigidity went as much as prohibiting even any good actions from being done on the Sabbath day.

The Day of the Sabbath itself was instituted by the Lord and were passed to His people because He wanted all of them to keep in mind His Law and precepts, and not to be swayed and tempted by the many worldly distractions and attachments, that they forgot about the Lord, His Law and commandments, and all that they had to do as disciples, followers and holy people of God. The Sabbath day was a holy day dedicated to the Lord, so that every members of God’s people may remember their obligation and calling to serve Him, and to focus and reorientate their lives back to God, and not to lose sight on what truly matters in their lives. It was a holy day akin to how we celebrate Sunday, the Day of the Lord’s Resurrection each week.

However, what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law enforced were wrong, as they caused people to become inconvenienced and troubled because of their stubbornness in not allowing even good deeds and works to be done. The Lord pointed out that folly and the wickedness of such way of observing the Law, by asking them plainly on what was allowed on the day of the Sabbath, ‘To do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?’, which implied that if they were to do nothing, then it was also in fact a violation of God’s Law and commandments, as the Lord was there to heal the man, and to help him regain his health back once again, not allowing him to suffer more, even a single day more.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all can see from the Scripture passages today, each one of us may have to face hardships, challenges, trials and persecutions as part of our journey in life and as we live our lives faithfully as Christians in our world today. If our Lord Himself had faced such intense scrutiny and opposition, challenges and rejection, it is only natural that we may encounter similar kind of experience in our own lives. All of us as Christians are after all called to carry our crosses in life and follow the Lord. Each one of us are expected to do our part in doing God’s will and in obeying God’s Law and commandments, and we should do our part in walking down the path that He has shown us, and led us through. We must not be easily swayed by the temptations of the world.

Instead, all of us should do our best to commit ourselves to be better and more faithful Christians in all things. We should do our best so that we may always be exemplary in our way of life, in loving our fellow brothers and sisters in the midst of our communities. Let our lives and actions be inspirations for everyone all around us so that by our every commitment and dedication, we may truly be worthy of God and His grace. May God be with us always and may He empower all of us, that we may be ever stronger in faith and in our conviction to love and serve Him in all of our actions regardless of the hardships and challenges that we may have to face in our path, in our every moments in life, now and always. Amen.