5 March 2016

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Saturday, 5 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the Lord’s call for us to return to Him with a repentant and sorrowful heart, fully regretting all the sins and all the wickedness that we have committed in our lives, as He had spoken to the prophet Hosea. God showed His willingness to forgive sinners and show His mercy to them, as long as they are willing to genuinely abandon behind their sins and repent.

And just as the prophet Hosea preached to the peoples of Israel and Judah at the time, the same principle still applies for us even today. God is calling us to His side, to take our place at our rightful location, that is with Him. But in order to do this, we have to leave behind the corruptions and wicked things that had separated us from the love of God in the first place, that is sin.

In the Gospel, Jesus was comparing the attitudes of two persons, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. In order to fully understand this, we have to first be aware of and to understand the reality of the society of Jesus’ time, that is the comparison between those two people based on their standing in the society. Then, we can see indeed how we all should live, and how we should act if we are to receive God’s mercy and forgiveness.

The Pharisees were very well respected and even rightly feared among the people in the society of the Israelites at the time, including the teachers of the Law and the scribes, for these were the ones who were well educated by the standards of the time, as compared to the rest of the people who were mostly illiterate and uneducated. They were deemed as the leaders of the people, especially in the matter of the faith.

On the other hand, the tax collectors were often reviled and rejected by the society, as they were firstly seen as those who tried to extort money from the people and no one indeed liked to pay taxes, especially not when the taxes ended up in the hands of their Roman masters and conquerors. They were therefore seen as collaborators and traitors, betraying their homeland and their country, as well as their people.

But yet, the actions of the Pharisees and the tax collectors showed that the people’s prejudice is wrong, and they should not have treated the respective persons in accordance to their own preconceived prejudices and ideas. It means that no righteous person has the right to condemn another whom he or she deem to be worse than them, and neither will sinner fall into damnation without hope for redemption.

In this season of Lent therefore, let us all help one another on the path to eternal redemption, rather than pursuing our usual judgmental attitudes. It is in our nature to look down on others who we deem to be inferior to us. But it is time for us to reflect on our own actions, as we too are sinners. We should not hinder the path of those who look for God’s redemption, and instead we should help and encourage one another in finding our way to the Lord.

Let us all commit ourselves anew to God, and let us all show love in all of our actions, both to the Lord our God, as well as to our fellow men. May through our actions, filled with love, true faith and devotion to God, we may be brought to eternal salvation and receive the fullness of God’s grace forevermore. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 5 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 18 : 9-14

At that time, Jesus told another parable to some people, fully convinced of their own righteousness, who looked down on others : “Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.”

“The Pharisee stood by himself, and said, ‘I thank You, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and give the tenth of all my income to the Temple.’ In the meantime the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.'”

“I tell you, when this man went back to his house, he had been reconciled with God, but not the other. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised up.”

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Saturday, 5 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 18-19, 20-21

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart You will not despise.

Shower Zion with Your favour : rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then You will delight in fitting sacrifices, in burnt offerings and bulls offered on Your altar.

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Saturday, 5 March 2016 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Hosea 5 : 15 – Hosea 6 : 6

YHVH said, “Then I will go away and return to My place until they admit their guilt and come back to Me, for in their anguish they will earnestly seek Me.”

Come, let us return to YHVH. He Who shattered us to pieces, will heal us as well; He has struck us down, but He will bind up our wounds. Two days later He will bring us back to life; on the third day, He will raise us up, and we shall live in His presence.

Let us strive to know YHVH. His coming is as certain as the dawn; His judgment will burst forth like the light; He will come to us as showers come, like spring rain that waters the earth.

YHVH said, “O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? O Judah, how shall I deal with you? This love of yours is like morning mist, like morning dew that quickly disappears. This is why I smote you through the prophets, and have slain you by the words of My mouth. For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice; it is knowledge of God, not burnt offerings.”