Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded of the laws and commandments that God had put in place for us, through His servant Moses, through His prophets and messengers, that all of us should obey them and act in the fulfilment of the precepts and the will of the Lord. This means that we should not do things that contradict the Law and the ways of the Lord, and in all things, we should devote ourselves to the righteousness as the Lord had shown us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, but we have to take note that we cannot become like robots in our faith, which means that we must not believe blindly or believing without understanding the true meanings of our faith. If we believe for the sake of believing or if we believe because we were told to do so, and see it as an obligation, then brethren, I fear that we still have a long way to go to become truly the disciples and followers of our Lord worthy of Him.

In the example which our Lord Jesus gave us today, He gave us the example of those who love only their friends and relatives, meaning that they love only those who love them back, as opposed to those who love everyone without discrimination, meaning that they will even love all those who have hated them, disliked them, treated them badly and spoke all kinds of evils and wicked things about them.

What Jesus our Lord mentioned was in fact, the essence of true and pure love. This kind of love is love that does not expect returns or rewards, and neither does it require any prerequisites or conditions. This is unconditional, selfless and perfect love, the same kind of love which our Lord Jesus Himself had shown us as an example to all of us how we should love Him and love one another as well.

For Jesus had given Himself up on the cross, allowing Himself to die for our sake, to suffer for our sake, that even though we were all sinners, wicked and unrepentant, He was willing to die for us, so that through His death and through His perfect love, we may find a way to Him, and by His resurrection, be reunited with Him in love, within the grace and within the loving embrace of God.

And by His many other works and examples, and through His teachings to His Apostles and followers, He had given us the examples of how we should love one another, and how we should interact with others, be it those who love us and care for us, and for those who hated us, who despised us, who cursed us, and who treated us badly. These too we should love and care regardless of what they had done for us.

Therefore, in this season of Lent, all of us have been challenged to love one another, even those who have not loved us back first. Our love must be unconditional and demanding for no reward or returns. We are all called to greater mercy and charity during this period of time, turning our hearts and minds away from selfishness, and growing deeper in our commitment to love God and His people.

Let us all pray together, and work together as one people, belonging to the one and only Church of God, to be filled with love and with the goodness of God, in this season of Lent. Let us all be converted to God, and seek to be reunited with our Lord, and may by our actions, all of us can be made whole and worthy once again. God bless us all. Amen.