Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that as Christians, that is as those who have believed in the Lord Himself, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour, Master and King, all of us truly have to put our trust and faith in Him at all times and in all circumstances. We should not lose our hope and faith in Him even when we may not be able to see immediately what God has promised to us. We have to continue to endure and persevere in life, knowing that despite all the challenges and trials that we have to encounter in our path, God is never far from us and that He will never leave us alone and unsupported. He is always there with us, guiding and strengthening us through various means, and even through ways that we may not be aware of.

In our first reading today, we heard from the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, the Apostle encouraged all the faithful and people of God there of God’s Providence and faithfulness to the Covenant that He has made with all of them, much as how Abraham once believed wholeheartedly in God and trusted in everything which he had been told and promised by God. Abraham followed wherever the Lord had led him to and he did whatever the Lord had asked and told him to do, because he truly had great and deep faith in God, knowing that God is ever loving and ever faithful, and He would always fulfil everything that He had said. Therefore we too should continue to have faith in God and trust in Him as well.

That was why Abraham was blessed and made to be the father of so many nations, because he believed wholeheartedly even when he could not yet see what the Lord had promised him and whether everything would indeed come true. Abraham trusted in God and he was blessed with the promised son, when he and his wife had been barren for so many years and waited so long. And through that son, Isaac, many nations came to be descended from Abraham, and today we know how God fulfilled everything that He had promised to His servants including that of Abraham himself. How about us then? Are we willing to have the same faith and trust in the Lord as well, even when we have not seen what He has promised to us?

Then, from the Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist in which the Lord Jesus told a man who asked Him to adjudicate between him and his brother for his material possessions, that he and all of us should be wary and careful that we should not give in to those worldly temptations and pressures, all the things that can easily lead to our downfall and destruction if we are not careful, and that is why we must be vigilant so that we do not end up being controlled by the many temptations and pressures of worldly desires, ambitions and all the forces often arrayed against us, which may lead us astray away from God and His path. We are reminded that all of our desires and ambitions can make us overlook the fact that all of them are ultimately fleeting and insignificant compared to what God can provide us.

In that passage, the Lord then went on to share the parable of a rich man who was worrying about how he would store all the excess wealth and possessions that he had obtained from his works and earnings, and he was making many plans and arrangements that he would be able to retain even more of what he already had. He was hoping that he would be able to enjoy all the riches and the fruits of his labour for many years afterwards in comfort and satisfaction, and yet, the Lord rebuked the rich man saying that for all of his worries, plans and machinations, everything in the end would come to waste because he would lose his very own life that very night, and the reality was indeed such that, no matter whatever plans he had put into place, none of those things would matter in the end.

Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because no matter how much we can accumulate in this world, all the wealth, glory and power we can attain, gather and assemble, none of these can be brought by us to the world that is to come, that is beyond death and beyond this current physical existence that we have now in this world. That is why through this Gospel passage today, the Lord wants to remind each and every one of us to work and seek not for the impermanent things of this world, but to do our best in each and every circumstances, to live our lives to the best of our abilities in the manner that God Himself has shown and taught us. And this means that each one of us should focus on Him and not on the many tempting things all around us.

Each and every one of us should realise that we are all truly beloved by God, and God Who has always considered us all His dearly beloved children will not abandon us in our hour and time of need. We should continue to live our lives worthily as good and faithful Christians, in loving God first and foremost, and then to show the same love to all those around us, particularly to all those whom we love and are dear to us, and also of course for all those whom we have encountered in life, all those whom the Lord had placed in our lives to show His love and compassion, mercy and kindness through our own examples, actions and works. Each and every one of us are reminded of this calling which we all have as the disciples and servants of the Lord, to be the shining beacons of His light, hope and truth, that by our own faith in Him, our complete and enduring trust in Him, many more will come to trust in the Lord as well.

May the Lord continue to bless us all and our every good endeavours, and may He continue to empower and strengthen each one of us in our every good efforts and works, all for His greater glory. May He continue to encourage us to have faith in Him and trust in Him always, despite all the challenges and trials present all around us. Let us all not be discouraged but continue to inspire everyone around us with the same faith and hope that we have always had in God, now and always. Amen.