Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures that we should always put our faith and trust in the Lord, our God and Saviour. All of us are reminded that God truly loves each and every one of us, and we are all precious to Him. He has also done a lot to reach out to us, to embrace us all with His love and kindness, showing us all His mercy. Through everything that He had done and shown us, we are all reminded that as Christians, that is as those whom He had called and chosen, and we who have answered His call, and taken Him as our Lord and Saviour, our Master and King, we must always put God as the centre and as the very focus of our lives and existence. We must always have faith in Him and commit ourselves and every moments of our lives to serve and glorify Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which the Lord spoke to His people, the people of God in the northern kingdom also known as Israel, of what He had intended for all of them, reminding them all of His ever enduring love and kindness, His desire to see them reconciled and reunited with Him. The prophet Hosea was sent to the Israelites of the northern kingdom, who had long disobeyed God and disregarded His Law and commandments, refusing to listen to the many prophets and messengers that God had sent to them to help and guide them to the right path. They persecuted those prophets and messengers, silencing and killing them because they refused to turn away from the path of sin and evil, from their wickedness and disobedience.

But the prophet Hosea, while delivering God’s displeasure and warnings to His people, the premonition of the destruction and sufferings that they would have to endure because of their sins and wickedness, which was imminent, at the same time, as we all heard in our first reading passage, we also heard of God reassuring and encouraging His people of His continued providence and love. He reminded them of all of His wonderful deeds in protecting and providing for their ancestors since the time He had brought them out of the land of Egypt out of their slavery, and how He had guided them safely and well throughout the way, loving them patiently all throughout their journey. He was patient with them even they repeatedly disobeyed Him, chastising and punishing them to help them see the error of their ways and that they might return to Him with repentance and sincerity of heart.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the miraculous healing and miracle that happened to two people, first being a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhage or bleeding issue, and the second being the dead daughter of Jairus, an official of the synagogue. In both occasions, we heard how the woman and the synagogue official had faith in the Lord, and they sought the Lord for help with their respective troubles. The woman braved through the large crowd surrounding the Lord, and also courageously overcame her fears and uncertainties, and the shame that was associated with her condition, as according to the Jewish laws and customs, the Law of Moses, a woman with bleeding condition and discharge was considered as unclean.

We heard how the Lord embraced this woman who had been healed from her haemorrhage issue and praised her for her great faith, for it was her faith that had saved her. Similarly, it was the constant faith that the synagogue official had in the Lord that allowed his daughter to be saved and raised from the dead. The Lord was laughed upon by the people who were there at the house when He said that the girl was only sleeping, because those people had little faith in the Lord and they did not believe that He could do anything to help the girl. The Lord proved His power and authority by restoring the daughter of Jairus back to life, highlighting that it is in Him alone that we have hope of salvation and liberation from our troubles, including that sin and death, which can be forgiven and overcome respectively by the Lord alone.

Through what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, we are therefore reminded that we should no longer be stubborn and hardened in our hearts, in refusing to listen to the Lord and in not embracing the ever generous love and mercy which He has constantly shown to each and every one of us. We have to imitate the good examples of the courage and the faith of both the woman who suffered from the haemorrhage as well as Jairus, the synagogue official, whose faith in God brought salvation and healing to themselves and their loved ones. Thus, in the same way, each and every one of us should also trust in the Lord and put our faith in Him. We should always be focused on the Lord and remind ourselves that God is our only Hope and Redemption, through Whom we shall gain the assurance of eternal life, true joy and happiness in life.

This is why after we have heard our Scripture readings today and ponder on their messages for us, let us all realise just how sinful and wicked we have been in our lives. Let us all realise just how we could have easily been crushed and destroyed by the Lord for all those wicked things if He had willed it so. Yet, in His infinite and most generous love and mercy, He has always constantly reached out to us with His love, caring for us and showing us the constant desire He has to be reconciled with each and every one of us. We truly ought to be ashamed at all of our sins and wickedness, and we should always be grateful for the love and kindness which God has given to us all these while, and we should never take Him for granted.

May the Lord therefore continue to bless us and love us at all times, and may He continue to empower and strengthen us in our journey of faith and life so that we may continue to persevere in faith despite the many challenges and difficulties, trials and obstacles that we may encounter in our lives. Let us all renew our commitment and conviction to serve the Lord ever more faithfully and to do His will in all that we do in our lives, to do His Law and commandments and to entrust ourselves to His love and kindness, now and always. Amen.