Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how the Apostles of our Lord were delivered from their distress, when they were arrested by the Jewish leaders and the elders of the people. They were freed from prison and brought into deliverance to continue once again to teach the word of God to all the people. And in the Gospel, we heard how Jesus made clear God’s love for us, in the famous phrase of the Gospel of St. John Chapter 3, Verse 16.

That God so loved the world, that is all of us mankind, that He was willing to send His own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, into this world so that all who witness Him and His life, His death and resurrection and then believe in Him, may be saved and not be lost. For God has decreed that all whom He had gathered upon Himself, He would not lose again, unless if we are the ones who want to be lost ourselves.

The essence of this is that, if we put our trust in the Lord, we shall not be disappointed. We shall have no need to fear for anything, as God will guard us and protect us in His own way. God will shield us from harm and bring us to safety. Such is His love and dedication to all those who have put themselves at His care. After all, He had given Himself and none less, for our salvation by His death on the cross.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is often difficult for us to comprehend the fullness of  God’s mercy and love for us. And it is often easy for us to fall into the temptations of this world and to walk down the path of corruption, that is the path of worldliness. And because we trust so much in the things of the world, such as power, fame, prestige, influence and human praise, then we cannot part from these.

We have our fears in this life because of these worldly attachments, and indeed not just attachments, but these had gone further to be addictions. Many times we mankind act in certain ways because we want to preserve ourselves and avoid being harmed in any way. And on the other hand, some of us even acted in a way that bring about harm and pain to others just so that we may preserve ourselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be awakened to the truth of Christ, that what we truly need is not all the worldly things that this world often impose on us. We have to be courageous in our life so that we may say no and reject all the falsehoods and the traps which Satan had set on our path. We must be able to overcome all this, and despite the challenge, if only that we can trust in God, then the path will be opened for us.

This Easter is a time for us to realise how much is the love which God had showered us with, the perfect and eternal love which He had shown us through Jesus, whom by His death had broken us free from the bonds of sin and death, and by His resurrection, had promised us the eternal promise of eternal life with Him. It is indeed time for us to change our lives for the better, and become better and more devoted disciples of our Lord.

May our Risen Lord, Almighty God, be with us always and guide us in all the ways of our lives. May He bless us and give us strength to carry out His will in this world, and resist the temptations of Satan, resist all of our fears and worries, for in God we can trust, and He will always be faithful. God bless us all. Amen.