Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that we are all the ones to whom God has entrusted His creations and all of this world, for us all to govern and take care of them. This also includes our responsibilities and our areas of involvement in various parts of this world, as we carry out our actions, works and interactions with one another, with our fellow brothers and sisters, our loved ones, family members, relatives and friends, and even with acquaintances and strangers in our midst. All of us are expected as Christians to be ever worthy of God, by doing what we have been shown and taught to do, by our Lord Himself, and through the Law and commandments, and all the guidance which He has imparted upon us through His Church.

In our first reading today, from the continuation of the passages from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans which we have heard for much of these past two weeks, we heard of the important reminders from the Apostle St. Paul to all of us the faithful people of God that we should not allow ourselves to be easily tempted and swayed by sin and all of its dangerous allures, all of which may end up leading us down into the wrong path, into our downfall and destruction. God has brought us out of our slavery and subjugation to sin, freed and delivered us from sin’s dangerous threats and control. But this does not mean that we are not going to face any trouble from sin anymore, as there are always those who wait all around us, seeking our destruction and downfall at all times.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, the devil and all of his fellow wicked forces of evil, all of them are always ready at any moment to strike at us and to bring upon us the temptations and allures so that we may end up disobeying God and falling into those temptations, hence committing sin once again, and be corrupted by the sins and the evils we have done. We must not allow sin and evil to have any control over us, and therefore, it is imperative that we attune ourselves well to the Lord, to know Him better and to find out what He truly wants from each and every one of us, that we may always live our lives in the manner that is truly worthy of God, in obeying His Law and commandments, just as the Lord Jesus Himself has shown us, through the perfect obedience that He has shown to us in fulfilling the mission that His heavenly Father has entrusted to Him.

The Lord has come into our midst, bearing His truth and Good News, and brought upon us deliverance and freedom from the tyranny and domination by sin, which have plagued and affected us for so long all these time. He obeyed His Father and showed us all the grace of God, His love and compassionate mercy, all manifested through the ultimate expression of love that Christ has shown us, by His willing endurance and suffering for our sake, by putting our sins and the punishments and consequences due for those sins upon His own shoulders, so that by His wounds and pains, all of us may be healed from our hurts and sins, and be reconciled completely and fully to God, being forgiven and absolved from all of our past wrongdoings, mistakes, evils and failures. Through the Lord, His love and kindness, and the kind of faith that He has shown us and expected us to have, we are all reminded that we should always strive to live lives that are truly holy and worthy of God.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples and followers, and all those who have been there to listen to Him, using the parable of the diligent and lazy stewards to highlight to them why it is really very important for all of them, and hence, all of us as well, to be ever vigilant and to do what we have been expected to do as God’s disciples, followers, as His beloved people. Each and every one of us are truly the stewards that God has entrusted with various aspects of His creations, this world and all that are in them, and we are all entrusted with various talents, abilities and opportunities, that are distinct and unique to each one of us so that hopefully we may indeed make good use of them for the good purposes and for the benefits of all those whom we encounter in our daily lives and at every moments.

The lazy steward is truly representing all those who have been idle and ignorant of their calling and mission in life, to do what God has entrusted each and every one of them to do, in making use of their gifts, talents and abilities for everyone’s benefits. Instead, they wasted their potential, their time and effort on seeking for their own personal ambitions, worldly pleasures and all those things which brought them further and further away from the path of God. Meanwhile, the diligent steward represents those among us who have responded positively to the Lord’s call and commit themselves wholeheartedly to the mission and works which God has entrusted to each and every one of us. In the end, as we heard, when the master came back, the diligent steward was rewarded greatly while the lazy steward received his just punishment.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is why each and every one of us must always be reminded that we should never allow the allures of worldly pleasures, attachments, the glory of worldly fame and other forms of worldliness, its vices and evils to tempt and lead us astray from the right path. We must not allow sin and evil to enter into our hearts and minds, corrupting them and perverting them away from the path of righteousness and justice. Instead, as Christians, we must always be filled with genuine faith and commitment to God, and we must always strive to do His will, at all times, throughout our whole lives. The Lord has given us many opportunities, means and the various ways for us to contribute our parts and to do what we can in order to glorify Him by our lives, and we should do so, at all times.

Let us all be exemplary in our every words, actions and deeds, and let us do our very best so that we may always be worthy of the Lord in all things. May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our journey of faith and life, in each and every moments of our lives, so that we may draw ever closer to God and so that we may continue to serve Him ever more wholeheartedly, and be filled with God’s grace and love, His strength, wisdom and courage. May God bless our efforts, good works and endeavours for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.