Psalm 118 : 165, 168, 171, 172, 174, 175
Lovers of Your Law have found great peace; nothing can make them stumble, not even distress.
I obey Your precepts and Your decrees; my ways are always before You.
Let my lips overflow with praise, for You teach me Your decrees.
Let my tongue sing of Your good news, for all You say is true.
I long for Your salvation, o Lord; I delight in Your Law.
Long may I live to sing Your praise, may Your ordinances always be my help!
Acts 15 : 1-2, 22-29
Some persons who had come from Judea to Antioch were teaching the brothers in this way, “Unless you are circumcised according to the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Because of this there was trouble, and Paul and Barnabas had fierce arguments with them. For Paul told the people to remain as they were when they became believers.
Finally those who had come from Jerusalem suggested that Paul and Barnabas and some others go up to Jerusalem to discuss the matter with the apostles and elders. Then the apostles and elders, together with the whole Church decided to choose representatives from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
These were Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers. They took with them the following letter : ‘Greetings from the apostles and elders, your brothers, to the believers of non-Jewish birth in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. We have heard that some persons from among us have worried you with their discussions and troubled your peace of mind. They were not appointed by us.”
“But now, it has seemed right to us in an assembly, to choose representatives and to send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have dedicated their lives to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. We send you then Judas and Silas who themselves will give you these instructions by word of mouth.”
“We, with the Holy Spirit, have decided not to put any other burden on you except what is necessary : You are to abstain from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from prohibited marriages. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all the children of one God, the Lord our Father who came down to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. We are all His children, and because of that, all of us should indeed be like Him, both in appearance, because He created us in His own image, and most importantly in our behaviour and in all the things that we do.
But sadly, indeed, that many of us no longer do things which reflect that we are all the children of our loving God, and instead, many of the things that we had done, are representative of the fact that we are children of the evil one, Satan, the tricker and deceiver. He deceived us and our ancestors to do things in his own preferences, and in doing so, we are following Satan’s bidding.
Do we then serve the Lord or Satan, His enemy? It is indeed easy to say that we want to serve the Lord, but yet, serving the Lord our God is never easy, because this world itself is filled with the powers and agents of Satan, which will do his best to keep us away from true salvation and faith in God. He did not want us to be saved, because of his hatred against the Lord, he wants only that His children, the mankind, suffer for that.
God chose us, and He justifies us, and if we remain faithful in Him, we will indeed receive abundant blessings in Him, and we will gain the promised eternal life and eternal bliss in union with our God. He chose us, and not we choose Him, for not all the people will be saved, and many remained in rebellion against God’s love and compassion, which He offered to all mankind for free, by dying on the cross.
That was what happened to the Jews in the Gentile lands, that despite the disciples attempting to spread the Good News to them first, being the first chosen people of our Lord, they have failed to see through the shadow placed by the evil one on their eyes and the ‘eyes’ of their hearts, and because they did not have true faith in God, they were easily taken over by the evil one, and reject the salvation offered freely by our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
And today, we listened to the story of the evangelisations done by the apostles, by St. Paul and Barnabas, who were at the forefront of the attempts to bring the Word of God to all the nations, to the pagans and Gentiles, whom we often see that they embrace the faith in God openly, because God becomes a living spring in them, and He fills the emptiness that was once within their souls and their hearts.
Again, God justifies anybody who believes in Him, remain in His love, and obey His commandments, and actually do His will rather than just mere lip-service in their faith in God. He did not let Himself be biased, even against Israel, His people, whom He had chosen through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, their forefathers. For there were many whom did not belong to the Jews, but actually having greater faith and love for God than the Jews ever were.
Therefore, the same also applies to us today, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that if all of us remain strongly in God’s love and favour, and that if we ensure that we do His will and commandments, and strive to be men of justice, love, and truth, we will be granted His graces and blessings, and truly becoming His beloved children, who are worthy of His kingdom and the eternal life. Let us go forth and make our actions and our words to reflect the love of God, and proclaim to all mankind that God is love, and God is life, and through Him we had been ransomed from death that is our fate. God bless us all. Amen.
Psalm 118 : 23-24, 26-27, 29-30
Although princes conspire against me, Your servant will observe Your decrees. Your laws are my delight, my counselors who uphold me.
When I explained my ways, You responded; instruct me then in Your precepts. Explain to me all Your ordinances, and I will meditate on Your wondrous deeds.
Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your law. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart upon Your laws.
Acts 6 : 8-15
Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. As they were unable to face the truth, they bribed some men to say, “We heard him speak against Moses and against God.”
So they stirred up the people, the elders, and the teachers of the Law; they took him by surprise, seized him and brought him before the Council. Then they produced false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against our Holy Place and the Law. We even heard him say that Jesus the Nazarean will destroy our Holy Place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.”
And all who sat in the Council fixed their eyes on him, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.
John 3 : 7b-15
Jesus said, “You must be born again from above. The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus asked again, “How can this be?” And Jesus answered, “You are a teacher in Israel, and you don’t know these things! Truly I say to you, We speak of what We know and We witness to the things We have seen, but you don’t accept Our testimony. If you don’t believe when I speak of earthly things, what then, when I speak to you of heavenly things? No one has ever gone up to heaven except the One who came from heaven, the Son of Man.”
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”
Hebrews 10 : 4-10
Never will the blood of bulls and goats take away these sins. This is why on entering the world, Christ says : ‘You did not desire sacrifice and offering; You were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said : ‘Here I am. It was written of Me in the scroll. I will do Your will, o God.”
First He says : ‘Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire nor were You pleased with them – although they were required by the Law.’ Then He says : ‘Here I am to do Your will.’
This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the Body of Christ Jesus.
Luke 24 : 35-48
Then the two disciples told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had made Himself known, when He broke bread with them. While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood in their midst. He said to them, “Peace to you.”
In their panic and fright they thought they were seeing a ghost, but He said to them, “Why are you upset, and how does such an idea cross your minds? Look at My hands and feet, and see that it is I Myself! Touch Me, and see for yourselves, for a ghost has no flesh and bones as I have!” As He said this, He showed His hands and feet.
In their joy they didn’t dare believe, and were still astonished; so He said to them, “Have you anything to eat?” And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish. He took it, and ate it before them.
Then Jesus said to them, “Remember the words I spoke to you when I was still with you : ‘Everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.'” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And He said, “So it was written : the Messiah had to suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead. Then repentance and forgiveness in His Name would be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.”
John 20 : 1-9
Now, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken our Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid Him.”
Peter then set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying flat, but he did not enter.
Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb; he, too saw the linen cloths lying flat. The napkin, which had been around His head, was not lying flat like the other linen cloths, but lay rolled up in its place.
Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed. Scripture clearly said that He must rise from the dead, but they had not yet understood that.
Alternative reading
Luke 24 : 1-12
On the Sabbath the women rested according to the commandment, but the first day of the week, at dawn, they went to the tomb with the perfumes and ointments they had prepared. Seeing the stone rolled away from the opening of the tomb, they entered, and were amazed to find that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there.
As they stood there wondering about this, two men in dazzling garments suddenly appeared beside them. In fright the women bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why look for the living among the dead? You won’t find Him here. He is risen. Remember what He told you in Galilee, that the Son of Man had to be given into the hands of sinners, to be crucified, and to rise on the third day.” And they remembered Jesus’ words.
Returning from the tomb, they told the Eleven and all the others about these things. Among the women, who brought the news, were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. But however much they insisted, those who heard did not believe the seemingly nonsensical story.
Then Peter got up and ran to the tomb. All he saw, when he bent down and looked into the tomb, were the linen cloths, laid by themselves. He went home wondering.
Luke 24 : 1-12
On the Sabbath the women rested according to the commandment, but the first day of the week, at dawn, they went to the tomb with the perfumes and ointments they had prepared. Seeing the stone rolled away from the opening of the tomb, they entered, and were amazed to find that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there.
As they stood there wondering about this, two men in dazzling garments suddenly appeared beside them. In fright the women bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why look for the living among the dead? You won’t find Him here. He is risen. Remember what He told you in Galilee, that the Son of Man had to be given into the hands of sinners, to be crucified, and to rise on the third day.” And they remembered Jesus’ words.
Returning from the tomb, they told the Eleven and all the others about these things. Among the women, who brought the news, were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. But however much they insisted, those who heard did not believe the seemingly nonsensical story.
Then Peter got up and ran to the tomb. All he saw, when he bent down and looked into the tomb, were the linen cloths, laid by themselves. He went home wondering.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 