Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard a central theme to today’s Scripture readings, which is indeed a very important aspect of our life. And this theme is obedience and humility, that is the obedience to the will of God and the humility to recognise our shortcomings and weaknesses, and that in all the things that we do, we ought to give thanks to God and give glory to Him, instead of taking all the credits for ourselves.

Jesus made it clear in the Gospel today, that whoever loves Him will do as He had taught them, and they will not contemplate doing things that are beyond the scope of what is expected from them as the people of God and servants of the Light. Those who love the Lord will keep His words and follow His commandments, practicing their faith and devoting their efforts to walk in the righteous path of God.

This will be the case if our faith is real and genuine, and we truly have faith in God, and not merely lip service or be faithful for show or appearances before others. Everything that we do in this life, everything that we say and utter from our mouth, and every thoughts that come in our minds, and every single breath we take in and expel, all of these will be filled with the purpose of God, and be filled with that sole and clear purpose of serving the Lord our God and give glory to His Name.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas clearly showcased this to us, when they healed the sick people in Lycaonia, in the region of the Asia Minor. Most of the people in that region and indeed throughout the Roman Empire at such an early period in the Church were still pagan believers, who believed in the traditional pagan gods. They believed in the traditional Greek gods such as Zeus, Hercules, Hermes, Ares, and many others, and each of which have their own priests and customs.

And it is against this tradition that the two Apostles and disciples of the Lord went up against, as they preached the true faith to the people. When they healed the sick and the dying from their sickness, it is when the mentality of the people and their beliefs kicked in. They thought that the gods themselves had taken up human form and walked among them. For those of us who are familiar with the Greek mythology, this is a recurring theme, that the gods walked among men and performing wonders.

The Greek gods were vain and they were just like men, that is filled with all sorts of emotions, both good and bad. As a matter of fact, they and the many other false pagan gods are often the personification and manifestation of the people’s desired and emotions, which they paired together with what they observed around them in natural phenomena and miraculous wonders.

But the Lord showed through St. Paul and St. Barnabas that it is He who is the One and only True God, with all power and authority that the other gods of gold, silver and stone cannot show. Yet, the people misunderstood its meaning and they instead worshipped both Paul and Barnabas as the avatars and manifestations of their supposed Greek pagan gods.

In our human nature, we are by our nature always predisposed to pride, arrogance, greed and other desires we have in us. It is therefore must have been difficult for any man to resist the temptation of power, fame and greatness when presented with the same situation that was faced by both St. Paul and St. Barnabas in Lystra and Derbe. But the two of them showed us all a great example how a disciple and follower of Christ should act.

They rebuked the people and preached to them the truth, although certainly the temptation of praise, power and pride must have assailed them. Imagine if you are being surrounded by so many people who cheered for you and said great things about you because of what you have performed admirably and greatly in their sight and presence.

But they knew that all the things they had done came from the Lord, and it is for His glory that they had done all those wonders and miracles. Today’s psalm perfectly captures this, by its first few lines. The phrase which in Latin reads, “Non nobis Domine, sed Nomine Tuo da gloriam” that means, “Not to us o Lord, but to Your Name we give glory.” Indeed, it is not for human glory we should act and work, but for the greater glory of God.

Therefore, today, as we reflect on these readings from the Sacred Scripture, let us all realise how we should be humble in all of our dealings and works. Let us learn to be humble and obey the Lord in all things, so that we may listen to Him and know what He wants from us. Let us all grow lesser and smaller in our pride and hubris, and grow deeper and stronger in our humility and obedience to God, that in all the things we do, we proclaim the great glory of God. May God be with us always. Amen.