Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the message from the Holy Scriptures, about firstly how God appeared to Abraham and his wife Sarah, to reveal to them the promise of His covenant with Abraham, that is the coming of the promised son, which both Abraham and Sarah had awaited for a very long time, for they were barren and without child.

In the psalm today we heard about the virtues and qualities of those who obey the Lord, walking in His ways and listening to all of His will and commandments. We heard how those who have been blameless and true to the Lord shall be blessed and they shall receive great rewards for that faith. Abraham himself was an example of this, and he has been blessed beyond mankind’s reckoning, becoming the father of many nations as God had promised him.

In the second reading, we heard from St. Paul who told the faithful in the city of Colossae in Greece, about the Lord Who have revealed His will to the faithful ones, and those to whom He has been willing to show His grace, He shall bring them to the place which He had reserved for them. But at the same time, St. Paul also spoke to the people of Colossae about the suffering which he had endured and would have to endure even more for their sake.

And finally we should link all of these to what Jesus said to His Apostles James and John when they asked for Him for a great favour, the favour of being granted the place of honour at the sides of the Lord Himself. The Lord rebuked them for not knowing what it was they were asking for when they asked Him for such a favour. And God revealed to them that just as St. Paul had mentioned that suffering is part of his faith and mission, the Apostles too would endure suffering, the same suffering which Christ Himself had suffered.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does all the Scripture readings today seem to convey to us about? They seem to have numerous messages intended for us. But in fact all of them had one key core message in common. That those who are faithful to God, who are faithful and true in their actions, words and deeds shall be blessed and they shall receive the rich graces and blessings from God, while those who are not faithful and who prefer wickedness shall be cursed and be cast out from God’s presence and fall into the damnation of hell.

And the way and the path of the Lord is not going to be an easy one, as those who have gone before us and persevered in that path before us can show us. Abraham had to endure many sufferings and trials, and he left behind his families, his relatives, all those whom he knew, his nation and his homeland behind to follow the Lord, and he braved through all the difficult times, famines and even refuge in Egypt, conflict between his family members and others. And yet, to the end, Abraham remained truly faithful.

Many other faithful servants of God endured great challenges and suffering. Moses endured rejection and ridicule by the people of Israel, while the Pharaoh and the Egyptians would have sought for his death. He had to endure the countless complaints and unfaithfulness of the Israelites, who went to the pagan gods and rebelled when they faltered in their faith and chose rather to follow the way of the world.

The prophets like Elijah and Elisha also faced many difficulties, as were Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. All of them faced those who refused to listen to them, and these also persecuted them, as they saw them either as nuisance or as a threat to their own worldly power and influence. And therefore, these people also rejected the Lord when He came to them, willing to help them and to absolve them from their sins.

All these had to do with the fact that it is difficult for us to resist the temptations of the world. There are many good things in this world, and there are many of these that will threaten to sway us and to pull us away from our way towards the Lord. But there are things which we can do in order to resist that pull, and to turn back towards the Lord, being obedient once again to His laws and ways.

We have to learn to listen to the Lord and be obedient to Him in all things, so that if we are faithful to Him, we will not suffer the consequences of the disobedience caused by sin. And all of these require sacrifice and commitment. It is not a simple matter of just claiming that we are faithful in word alone, but in all that we do, in how we interact with our fellow men and women, we must show that genuine love and commitment to love and be caring towards one another, just as God has loved us.

Let us all devote ourselves anew and let us change our ways. If we once have hated and filled ourselves with wickedness, let us all now change these to righteousness and grace, doing what is good and doing what we can to help one another, especially those who are weak, downtrodden, hungry and rejected by others. May God help us in our journey and strengthen us all in our faith. God bless us all. Amen.