Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that God has revealed His salvation to the nations and called on us all to follow Him and to embrace His path. He wants all of us to return to Him, to put our faith and trust once again in Him, not putting our trust and faith in the means and powers of the world, all of which will eventually fail us and will not be able to provide us in the manner that the Lord can do for us, He Who is the Lord and Master over all things, Who is the only One that can guarantee true and lasting happiness for us.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the Lord spoke out against Assyria, the mighty Empire which was then preeminent and powerful in the region. The Assyrian Empire was referred to as the sword of the Lord’s anger as we must understand contextually how the Assyrians were the ones that crushed and conquered the alliance of the forces of the northern kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Aram-Damascus against the southern kingdom of Judah and its rulers, the House of David. The two kingdoms of Israel and Judah had long been locked in bitter struggles and wars with each other for many generations, and the Lord intervened to save and protect those who were faithful to Him.

God showed His love and kindness, His faithfulness and commitment to the Covenant which He had made and established with His people in the kingdom of Judah, and especially with the House of David, the descendants and the rightful rulers over the people and kingdom of Israel. When the enemies of the Lord’s people plotted and sought to destroy those whom God loved and cared for, He sent the forces of the Assyrians and their king to destroy and crush those who plotted against them, and that was how both the kingdoms of Israel in the north and Aram-Damascus were destroyed. The people and the kingdom of Judah were spared from all the plotting of their enemies.

But then, at the same occasion, the Assyrians themselves became proud and haughty, thinking that all their power and greatness, their achievements and glory were due to their own power and might, and at the time of the works and ministry of the prophet Isaiah, it was recorded that the Assyrians and their king, Sennacherib, brought up a vast army to Judah and Jerusalem to besiege the city of the people of God and conquer it, and at that time, King Sennacherib also uttered blasphemous words against God, at the height of his pride and ego, his ambition and haughtiness.

Thus, God proclaimed His sentence and opposition against those Assyrians who had became proud and haughty, and disobeyed God’s will. He would remind them all who was truly in charge, and humiliated them and their King according to Scriptural records and traditions, by striking against King Sennacherib’s massive army with His Angel, and resulting in that army being completely wiped out. This certainly humiliated the king and all of the Assyrian hubris and ego, reminding them and everyone else, the One Who is truly in charge, that is the Lord, God and Master of all the whole Universe.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord in His prayer to His heavenly Father and in His words to the disciples before Him, told them all how God had revealed great things through His Son, Who had been sent from Heaven into this world, to be the One bearing God’s salvation, His love and truth to all of us. The love of God has indeed been made manifest and real in the flesh, tangible and approachable to each and every one of us through Christ, by which God has revealed His plans for us.

At the same time, it was also a veiled rebuke against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, those who were wise and learned, the ones who were supposed to be most knowledgeable about the Law of God and the words and teachings of the prophets. Yet, it was they who were the most stubborn in refusing to listen to the Lord Jesus and His teachings, opposing His works and efforts, and even accusing Him of blasphemy and wrongdoing, such as collusion with the prince of demons to smear His efforts and good Name. Therefore, this is why the Lord told His disciples and all of us, of the truth which He has brought with Him into this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as Christians are the bearers of God’s truth, His Good News and love. We are reminded that we should always put God as the focus and emphasis of our lives, and we should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations of our pride, ego, or by our hubris and ambitions, as all of those would easily sway us all down the wrong path, tempting us away from God’s righteousness, grace and virtues. All of us should instead be good and worthy disciples and followers of the Lord, and be great role models and inspirations for our fellow brothers and sisters in all the things we say and do.

May the Lord, our loving God continue to be with us and guide us all just as He had done with His beloved people in the past. May He empower and strengthen us all so that we may remain strong and courageous in living our lives worthily and continue to persevere despite the many challenges facing our lives in this world. May God bless us all and empower us in all the things that we do, all of our good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.