Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the wisdom of God, and how each and every one of us ought to have this wisdom in us, and indeed, not just to have the wisdom, but to practice that wisdom in our own lives, in our every actions and deeds, so that we may truly walk in the righteous path of the Lord, and be worthy in the sight of God.

The disciples in today’s Gospel reading came up to Jesus and complained about the person who tried to do what the disciples had done, by calling upon the Name and therefore, the power of Jesus Christ, God’s Saviour, to cast out demons. They did not want the person to be able to claim to work in the Name of God, seeing the person as a rival to their own works and influence, even probably as a threat to their own position.

This is caused by their trust in the wisdom of man, in the understanding of how things work in this world. This world is filled with jealousy and conflicting human desires, with human ego, ambition and pride. This world is filled with the ambitions and desires of men, who wants more things for themselves, more glory for their own, more pleasure for their own bodies and minds, that ends up causing pain and suffering for others.

That was also why the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were opposed to the Lord and His many works among the people. They clearly saw how the Lord performed His miraculous deeds, His healing miracles and the powers He has shown before them, that could not have come from any other sources beside that of God. They have also listened to His teachings and all of His words, all filled with the revelations of truth, and yet, they still refused to believe.

In fact, they opposed the good works of God and persecuted the Lord and His disciples, making their lives and their works very difficult as they opposed them at every possible opportunities. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is because they think not in the way the Lord thinks, and they did not put their trust in divine wisdom, but in their own limited and corrupted human wisdom and understanding, clouded by their own ego and pride, human greed and desires.

They thought that they could not have been wrong with the way they lived up their faith, and when the Lord apparently criticised and rebuked them before the people in their presence, they became agitated and were angry, refusing to listen to the words of wisdom, and instead, drawing even more from the hatred and jealousy, the greed and desires found within their hearts and minds. As a result, they failed to recognise the truth that Christ has brought upon them.

They were all trusting too much upon their own human wisdom, power and understanding. And as a result, they were not able to comprehend God’s actions and will, and they acted in ways that were contrary to the wisdom of God. God desired that all of us put our trust in Him, in His wisdom and power, for all the actions and deeds we have done all these while, we did them out of self-preservation and self-glorification rather than to live in accordance to the will of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called to reflect on our own lives, and think carefully about our course of actions. Are we able to focus our trust and attention to the Lord from now on, instead of being filled with ego, pride and human desire? It is not easy for us to do the former actions, and it will require us to make the effort to commit ourselves to a new way and outlook of life. And we have to put God truly to be at the centre of our lives.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen us in our conviction to live ever more faithfully in accordance with His will. May He guide us on our journey of faith, that we may grow ever deeper in our love for Him and that we may dedicate ourselves ever more to Him. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.