Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we begin the time of the Ordinary Time, which will take place between now and the beginning of the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday. And although this period of time is called the Ordinary Time, but we must not think of it as a time when things are ordinary and nothing special is commemorated or observed. On the other hand, we should reflect on the flow of the liturgical year in order for us to understand what we need to do as Christ’s followers.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this period of time between Christmas and the season of Lent was marked at the beginning yesterday by the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which commemorated the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the River Jordan, at the age of approximately thirty years, marking the beginning of His earthly ministry, when He began to teach the people and proclaim the truth of God to them.

And this is significant because, all of us as Christians have shared in the same baptism that He has received, marked by the Holy Name of the Trinity, as God’s own children. At the baptism of Our Lord, the Holy Trinity was also present, the Father’s voice that proclaimed the Sonhood of Christ, Christ Himself as the Son, and the dove descending upon Him as the Holy Spirit, three Divine Persons, One God all present then, just as at the baptism of each and every one of us.

As such, we can see that we share in the same ministry and work the Lord Himself has taken up at His baptism, to obey the will of God and to do the good works of God. He began His works, as we heard in the Gospel passage today, calling upon those whom He had chosen, to become His disciples and followers, to be the fishers of men. And from then on, the works of God begun and His Church grew.

We are also therefore called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and the disciples, to continue the many good works they have begun. The Lord has commanded them all to go forth to the nations, and to baptise them in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, as the Church had done for the past two millennia and more, and also to proclaim the truth of the Lord as written in the Scriptures and as preserved in the Apostolic Tradition of the Church.

But the works are far from being done and completed. In fact, there are still many avenues and opportunities available for us to provide our talents and abilities, our time and effort in bringing the truth of God, His love and His promise of salvation to more people among all the nations and races. And it is through us, those who belong in the Church in the modern day, those who have received the Sacrament of Baptism, to continue the mission that God had entrusted to us, His disciples.

Now, are we able and willing to commit our effort and time to serve the Lord and to do what we are supposed to do as Christians, as those who believe in God and walk in His ways? Are we able to practice our faith daily, in each and every actions we do, and in everything we say, so that those who see us may truly know that we belong to God, and that hopefully they too may come to believe in God and be saved?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let these time of grace, although named the Ordinary Time of the year, give us a new direction in life, to make a new ‘ordinary’ moments of our life, that doing the will of God become something that is ordinary for us, meaning that it becomes a habit and something we really look forward to at all times. Let us therefore commit ourselves in this manner, and dedicate ourselves to serve Him from now on, as what each and every one of us need to do. May God bless us all and our every endeavours. Amen.