Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Lord reminding us that if we remain faithful to Him and are righteous and just in our way of life, faithful and obedient to the commandments and the Law that God has given to us, we shall be blessed and filled with grace, while if we abandon His path and follow the path of sin, we shall have nothing left to ourselves in the end. The path may seem easier for us if we walk in the path of worldliness and sin, but in the end, if we realise it, there will be nothing for us but regret if we walk down that path.

The path of the Lord is filled with great challenges and trials, and it requires us to commit ourselves, to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, and to bear fruits of our faith, which means that we cannot remain idle or ignorant of the truth of God, and as Christians we cannot be passive and think that we have nothing to do in life. We are all called to have faith in the Lord and not to put our trust in our worldly strength, wealth and possessions, prestige and power in all of their forms and sorts.

Instead, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, we must have faith in the Lord, and through faith, as symbolically and metaphorically explained by the Lord, we should keep that faith as through faith even what seemed to be impossible, like moving mountains and others, can be possible. For God will be our Guide and source of strength, and He will be with us through whatever it is that we are doing in life, in every moments of our time and in our every efforts. Nothing will go to waste so long as we trust in the Lord and dedicate ourselves to Him.

Today through that same Gospel reading we are also reminded to be careful of the trap of worldly temptations, the temptations of wealth and power, of fame and glory, as highlighted in the action of the Lord chasing out all the merchants and money changers that did their businesses in the courtyard of the Temple of the Lord. Many among them were dishonest in their actions, in cheating the pilgrims and others from their money by overcharging their services and products for the sake of gaining more money and profits for themselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is where we need to realise that we have to choose between serving God and serving the world and Satan, and all of those temptations that they had brought down to us. We have to make a firm decision to resist the pressure and the coercions by which the devil, Satan, is always trying to lure us into destruction through the false promises and sweet lies which he has always made to us. We must be careful lest we end up falling into his traps as he is always ever so persuasive and crafty.

This is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, through the Scripture readings we have received today, we are all called to deepen our spirituality and relationship with God. We should anchor ourselves strongly on the Lord and resist the allures, temptations, coercions and false promises of the devil and his allies, and endeavour and strive as much as possible to walk faithfully in the path that the Lord has shown before us, obeying Him and committing ourselves to His cause.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians are we all willing to commit our time and effort to the Lord? Are we willing and able to give ourselves as a worthy offering, all our whole being to glorify the Lord by our every actions and dedications? This is our calling and vocation as Christians, to be the witnesses of the Lord and to be His disciples, through our every moments in life, in our every words, deeds and actions. We are called to proclaim the Good News of the Gospels through even the smallest things we do in life, and if we have not done so yet, then we really should push ourselves to do so.

Let us all reorientate ourselves and our lives, that we may become ever closer to God and be ever more faithful in each and every moments of our living in this world. May all of us be true to our faith, and dedicate ourselves to the cause of the Lord, to be truly faithful as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own. May God bless us all, and may He remain with us always. Amen.