Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all heard from the Scriptures of what it truly means for us to be Christians, in following God and doing God’s will, and we are also reminded that we must be vigilant against the many temptations of the world, which could lead us astray and away from the path towards God and His salvation. If we are not careful and allow those corruptions to mislead us down the wrong path, then we will end up disobeying God and committing sins and wickedness in the sight of God and our fellow brothers and sisters. This is why as Christians all of us must always focus our attention first and foremost on the Lord, and commit ourselves and each and every moments of our lives to follow Him wholeheartedly.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the story from the Book of the prophet Samuel in which we have heard for the past week and more of the time of the first kings of Israel, starting from Saul, whom God had first chosen to be the ruler and king over His people, and yet, that same king Saul disobeyed the Lord as he likely gave in to the temptations of worldly glory, power and ambitions. The Lord therefore gave the kingdom of Israel to be under the charge of another person, David, who would be more faithful, obedient and worthy than Saul. And therefore today in that first reading passage we heard of the jealousy of Saul when he heard of all the exploits and works of David, favoured and blessed by God in all that he had done.

Thus, Saul allowed himself yet again to be tempted by the temptations of worldly glory and evil, and all the wickedness that he had committed, gave in to the temptation of greed and jealousy, and hence, plotting murder and death for the young David. Thankfully, Jonathan, one of Saul’s own sons, was a good friend of David, and he helped David out of the predicament when he knew of what his father had plotted against David in his anger and jealousy. And as we heard, Jonathan attempted to talk Saul out of committing such a heinous and wicked deed, reasoning and arguing with him why he should not do so, and managed to get Saul to swear an oath not to harm or kill David. Nonetheless, later on, when Saul was tempted by the devil, he would still attempt to harm David.

The Gospel passage today then spoke of the moment when the Lord Jesus continued carrying out His ministry, and even in the wilderness, many people from all over the place, from the whole nearby region and even beyond, coming towards Him, from the regions of Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and from the region of Tyre and Sidon, as mentioned that they had all heard of all the works and deeds of the Lord, Who showed great signs and miracles. And many of the people came to the Lord seeking for healing and help, and they all were bringing more and more towards Him, making the Lord truly very famous and renowned at the time. Yet, we heard how the Lord told the people not to reveal what He had done for them.

This reminds all of us again that we must not allow our pride, ego and worldly desires from leading us astray because we crave and seek for the satisfaction of worldly ambitions, pleasures and fulfilment. The Lord was truly very popular and He had a large following, and He could very well have used that for His advantage and purpose just like how many others of His contemporaries and those who came before Him, claiming to be the Messiah, had done. The people could very well have made Him to be their King, and He could have gained the people’s support for that purpose. Yet, this was not what He had done, and He told the people sternly not to proclaim everything that He has done. He did all those things not for worldly glory and power, but instead to fulfil His Father’s will to save all the mankind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from what we have heard from the Scripture passages today, we are all reminded that we should not allow worldly temptations, desires, ambitions and greed from undermining our faith and righteousness in God. Like Saul, if we allow ourselves to be swayed by those things, we may end up being dragged down the path of evil and wickedness, into sin and damnation. This is why we must always keep in mind that our lives should always be filled with the desire to be righteous and to follow and obey God in all the things we say and do. We should not let sin to lead us down the path to ruin and destruction, and we should always be strong and steadfast in leading lives that are exemplary and inspirational, that through us and our faith, many more may be strengthened in faith as well.

Let us all be humble in life and reject the path of sin and evil. Let us all resist all the trap and false promises of earthly wonders, of temporary pleasures and comforts found all around us, and instead let us return our focus once again towards the Lord, our loving God and Master. Let all of us be called and inspired to be the worthy and faithful beacons of God’s Light and truth, His Good News and love for all. Let our every words, actions and deeds, our every interactions with those around us, and our every way of life be truly Christ-like, and let us be committed to whatever vocation and missions which the Lord has entrusted to us all in our respective lives. Let our whole lives be truly filled with the light of Christ, in all things and in our every good efforts and endeavours.

May the Lord continue to guide and bless us, and may He bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, so that through all of them, we may continue to do His will and be ever more committed to this path of righteousness and justice which He has led us through, following the examples that He Himself had set, and those of the holy saints and other great men and women, our holy predecessors. Amen.