Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we heard about the sin of pride and all the things that had often prevented man from finding their way back towards God. The Lord is actually warning and reminding us not to give in to the temptations of pride that can lead us down the path of ruin. We have to resist the things that may often come between us and God’s love and grace, our many weaknesses and vulnerabilities, particularly that which involved our ego and pride, which is the same mistake that had misled Satan down the path to destruction. This is why we are being reminded so that we ourselves do not take this same path down to our own downfall and ruin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel telling us of God’s proclamation regarding the Prince of Tyre. Contextually, we must understand that Tyre back then was a great city, founded and belonging to the Phoenicians, a race of people who specialised in trade and commerce in the times past, establishing numerous colonies throughout the Mediterranean in ancient times. The city of Tyre therefore became fabulously wealthy and despite the presence of much more powerful neighbours, the city and people of Tyre were often able to have their way and maintain their relative freedom due to their immense economic capacity and great prestige, as a city known for its great worldly power and glory.

That was why the kings and rulers of Tyre could act with relative impunity, doing whatever they wanted, proudly boasting their influence and power, even when they were militarily inferior compared to the superpowers like the Assyrians and the Babylonians back then. The Lord warned them and all of His people of the danger of pride, ego and hubris, all of which can become our undoing if we leave them unchecked or if we even indulge in them. And the Lord’s proclamations and predictions eventually came true when the city of Tyre eventually, a few centuries later, was razed and destroyed by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, as attested by historical evidences, and that city henceforth lost its great significance, prestige, wealth and power.

In our Gospel passage today we heard of the parable that the Lord Jesus spoke, the well-known story of the camel that passes through the eye of the needle, which the Lord said would be easier to happen rather than for one who is rich and proud, mighty and haughty to enter into the kingdom of heaven. This was a comparison and a point that the Lord made in order to let His disciples and followers know that, just as it would be impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, then it would have been even less likely for a man filled with pride and ego to humble oneself before God and enter into the kingdom of God and into the Holy Presence of God.

That was exactly how Satan fell too, swayed by the pride that made him to rebel against God, and that same temptations were made and presented by Satan to our ancestors as well, and many people, from generation to generation, had fallen into these same temptations. That is why many people found it difficult to come to the presence of God because they have allowed pride, ego and arrogance to keep themselves from realising that they were sinners and were in need of God’s healing and forgiveness, and instead, they kept on living their lives in delusion thinking that they were doing the right things, and spent most of their lives and efforts in pursuing their own selfish desires and wants.

And hence, this is why we are being reminded today through these readings from the Sacred Scriptures of the need for each and every one of us as Christians, to be free from arrogance and hubris, pride and ego in how we live our lives and in our every attitudes and actions throughout our lives. We should never think that we can get away with haughty, arrogant and wicked attitudes in how we carry ourselves, and in how we interact with others around us. Many of us have caused, either inadvertently or purposefully, pain, sufferings and hardships to those around us, even to those who loved us and whom we loved, out of our own pride, ego, ambition, arrogance and hubris.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence ponder carefully on these words of the Lord that we have received and discern in what way therefore we can live our lives worthily of the Lord moving forward, so that we do not end up falling prey into the temptations of worldly glory and ambition, as well as to our own pride and ego, vainglory and hubris, all of which can lead us ever further away from God and astray from the path that He has shown us and led us into. As Christians, let us all therefore be good role models and examples in how we live our daily lives so that our every actions, words and deeds can truly inspire those whom we encounter, in the humility, faith and obedience we have in God and in His teachings and ways.

May the Lord, our ever loving and compassionate God continue to strengthen our faith in Him and help us to lead a more worthy and wholesome life in each and every moments, in doing what He Himself has shown us all through His own Beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour. May all of us be ever exemplary in all deeds and actions, and lead ever more people to God’s salvation and grace, through even the smallest things that we do in our lives, now and always. Amen.