Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called to remember our duty as Christians, to do God’s will in our lives and to follow what the Lord has commanded us to do, to be righteous and just in all of our deeds, that all of us be examples in faith for one another, and not to act as how those wicked and evil people had acted, in their selfishness and greed, in their arrogance and prejudice against their own fellow men.

Many of us have been lukewarm in our faith, and in how we lived our respective lives. As a result, we have not been able to and we should not regard ourselves as genuine followers and disciples of the Lord, until the moment when we are able to overcome our natural selfishness, greed and pride, all the ambitions and arrogance in our hearts and minds, which are often significant obstacles in our journey towards the Lord and His salvation.

This was not of course, how we were created. God created us man, in His own image, and intended to live in perfect harmony and love with Him, and with one another. He wanted us to be like Himself, existing in perfect love and harmony between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the love which was so perfect that there is nothing like it exist in this world. But He wanted to share with us this love, and that was why, He created us.

Unfortunately, greed and pride entered into our hearts and minds, when we were tempted by the sweet lies and falsehoods of the evil one, who appeared to our first ancestors and tricked them to disobey God, by pulling the strings on their desire for knowledge, for greatness and for equality with God. They were swayed by those lies and as a result, they fell into temptation and sin, by disobeying God’s words.

Ever since, we have lived under the bondage and tyranny of sin and evil. We have been conditioned in this world, to follow the urge of our own desires, the pressures of our pride and the allures of worldly pleasures and goodness, which distract us from our true destination and focus in life, that is God. But, as Christians, now we are challenged to go beyond all these temptations and obstacles, and strive to be who we are supposed to be, that is, God’s beloved and righteous children.

And in order to do this, we have to realise that there are probably a lot of things that we have to do in our lives, in order to live up to the expectations of our faith. We have to overcome those natural tendencies of greed, of pride, of desires for worldly temptations and goods, and for prestige, fame, glory, as well as many other things that often distract us from God. How should we then move forward from now on?

This is where we should rediscover the depth of our faith, and commit ourselves to a renewed vigour in our relationship with God. For too many of us, faith is empty and meaningless, and we do not have a genuine relationship with God. Nay, in fact, we are so busy and were so preoccupied with our myriads of worldly businesses and works, in the various temptations we face daily, that we forget what we, as Christians, have to do.

That is why we became selfish, proud, arrogant and unloving. We became jealous at the achievements that were made by others around us, and wanted nothing but our own self-glorification and satisfaction. This is what we must avoid, that as Christians, we must instead get rid of the pride in our hearts, and resist the temptation of our desires and the allures of the pleasures of the flesh.

Let us deepen our relationship with God, through deep and genuine prayer, by spending quality time with Him, that we may know what is His will for us, and what He wants each and every one of us to do in our respective lives. We are called to be true servants of God, and we should do this, by living our lives filled with God’s love, and showing that same love to one another.

Let us follow the path which God has shown us, the path of humility and obedience, and turn ourselves, our heart, mind, body and soul, indeed, our entire being, to the Lord and serve Him from now on, wholeheartedly, and be worthy of Him and His eternal glory, which He will give all those who are truly faithful to Him. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.