Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we all ponder together its meaning and importance to us, we are reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and chosen people, those whom He has called and loved from among the nations, we are all bearers of His truth, love and Good News, and we have received from Him the assurance of His love and providence, and we should never be afraid to follow Him wholeheartedly because God is indeed always ever faithful to His Covenant and promises to us, His beloved ones. He will never abandon us no matter what, and we should therefore appreciate just how much He has loved us all that He gave us the ultimate gift in His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, we heard of the words of the Apostle speaking to the people of God regarding the need for all of them to put their faith and trust in the Lord because it is in the Lord alone that we can find true wisdom, support, strength and encouragement which surpassed anything that this world or any worldly means and designs can provide for us. God will provide us with whatever we need, and we have to trust in Him and have faith in Him, faith that is strong and unshakeable, believing that with God everything is possible and that with His guidance and help, we shall be able to overcome whatever challenges and trials that may come our way.

That is why as Christians, as those who have chosen to follow the Lord, all the more that we should always trust in the Lord’s Providence at all times, in His Wisdom and guidance, knowing that He alone can provide us with steady and most reliable guidance, help and reassurance in our paths in life. Even through hardships and difficulties, all of us can indeed depend on the Lord to help and guide us in our paths so that we may continue to walk confidently forward knowing that God will always give us steady path and guidance, helping us to overcome the struggles and challenges in the end. And while we may have to suffer, but we know that we do not suffer and endure the hardships alone, as the Lord is always by our side, protecting us and helping us.

And we must also not forget that the Lord Himself has suffered too, and His sufferings and pains surpassed anything that we likely ever experienced or will experience in our lives, considering how He bore upon Him not just the weight of His wooden cross, but far heavier than that, as He bore upon that cross, the weight of all of our faults, sins and mistakes, and offering Himself on the Altar of that Cross at Calvary, He has offered on all of our behalf, the perfect offering and sacrifice which is befitting to redeem us all from all those sins. As the Lamb of God, He has broken for us His own Most Precious Body and poured His Most Precious Blood, so that through the sharing of His Precious Body and Blood, He might reveal to us all the perfection of God’s love and grace.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord’s frustration and disbelief at the people that He encountered, especially the Pharisees among them who kept on doubting Him and kept on asking Him in many occasions to prove Himself, asking Him to provide signs, wonders and miracles that they demanded of Him to verify His identity, authority and authenticity. But the reality was that the Lord had in fact already shown them many signs, wonders and miracles throughout His works, to those same Pharisees and people who had been witnessing His signs and miracles, and yet, they kept hardening their hearts and minds, and refused to believe in Him and in those signs.

That was why the Lord was very critical at them and rebuked them for their lack of faith and belief in Him, despite everything which He had done to show them about Himself and all that He has revealed to them in Wisdom and power. As long as they continued to harden their hearts and minds, and refused to listen to the Lord, then therefore none of those signs and wonders would have done anything to convince them. And contextually, those Pharisees were those who were very proud of their intellectual superiority and high status in the community of the people of God, and they often looked down on those whom they disagreed with, including that of the Lord and His followers, which was why they were always opposed to His works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed these words of the Scriptures, reminding us all that we have to trust in the Lord and His love for us, His ever generous and constant kindness, grace and love, which He has shown us all most patiently, most wonderfully, and the greatest of which is by Him sending unto us His own Beloved Son, His most Precious and perfect gift for us. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, all of us have received the assurance of God’s most wonderful and ever enduring love, and we should indeed appreciate the fact of just how beloved and treasured all of us have been by our loving God and Father. Let us all trust in His love and providence, and continue to walk faithfully with Him.

May the Lord continue to strengthen us all in our paths and journeys, in all the things that we do, so that by our continued commitment and dedication, we will continue to be good examples and role models for one another, in our faith and dedication to God, in our commitment to walk ever more gracefully and wonderfully in the path of the Lord. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we have our loving and most compassionate God Who is always with us all, His beloved and chosen people. God is always ever in our midst, in our communities, in our presence and in everything that we do. In each and every moments of our lives, God is always ever present, and He has never abandoned us, no matter what, even when we ourselves have been disobedient and unfaithful in our own lives and in our lack of faith and dedication towards Him. God has always freely given Himself to us all, in a most generous and wonderful way, just as He has shown throughout all of history.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah, we heard of the moment when the grand Temple that King David had prepared and his son, King Solomon had built for the Lord, finally came to completion and everything was finally ready for the grand inauguration and opening of the Temple of God, as well as for the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant, the Ark of God itself, where God’s Presence descended upon, as the tangible and real presence of God amongst His people. This was the moment long awaited by the people of God, and was the very important moment when God Himself came to dwell among His people, at the heart of the capital of the Kingdom of Israel.

We heard about the grand celebrations and the festivities which accompanied all the preparations to welcome the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple that King Solomon had built for the Lord. The whole people from the King down to the lowest among the members of the community all rejoiced greatly because the Lord has been willing to dwell among them, and how He has always blessed and protected them all throughout time and history, never neglecting and abandoning them even when the Israelites themselves had been unfaithful and lacking in trust and obedience to Him. We are reminded through these that this is the same kind of joy we should also have in us and experience because we know that God has always provided for us in all things.

That is why we should always keep in mind that God should always be at the heart and centre of our lives, our every actions, and we should alwys remember that God never abandons us no matter what, and each one of us are precious to Him. This is why we should not be afraid to reach out to Him and to seek His help and guidance especially whenever we are facing lots of hardships and difficulties in life. It is by trusting in the Lord that we can truly find our path in life and gain true joy and security in all things, which the world cannot provide to us. We must always believe that God is always ever present in our midst, helping and providing for us, guiding and strengthening us even through the darkest and most difficult moments we may be facing.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel of St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the account of the actions of the Lord Jesus and His disciples as they carried out their works among the people of God. They went around from place to place serving the people, as the Lord went to reach out to those who had looked out for Him for healing and hope, caring for them and strengthening them all, so that they all could regain their strength and courage, to trust once again in God Who has always loved them so patiently and generously. And unlike the old Ark of the Covenant mentioned and highlighted in our first reading passage today, what the people had before them was no less than the Lord Himself in the flesh, manifesting perfectly His Love through His Son, incarnate as the Son of Man.

While the Old Ark of the Covenant was crafted from the finest materials and containing the two slabs of stone on which the Law of God was written, and also the miraculous heavenly bread, manna, and the staff of Aaron, the staff of authority over the people of God, in Jesus Christ, the Saviour, the perfect Manifestation and Revelation of God’s everlasting Love for us, we have seen in person and in the most tangible way, the Law of God made flesh, the Bread of Life and Lamb of God Who has sacrificed Himself for us and offered Himself for us, His own Most Precious Body and Blood offered for our sake on the Cross, and our Good Shepherd, the One Who guides us all with authority, love and compassion towards the Father.

That is why we should really be grateful that God is so loving towards us that He has willingly come into our midst, showing us all that He truly loves us all and cares for us even after our lack of faith and commitment towards Him. God does not abandon us in our time and hour of need, and He will always be there for us no matter what happens. We should appreciate that we are the beloved children of God, and hence we should also be full of love, compassion and kindness to everyone just as our loving God and Father had done towards us. We should always be exemplary and loving at all times, and be the worthy bearers of our Lord’s truth, Good News, love and compassion in our world today, manifesting further what He has shown us through His Son.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all reflect upon the message of the Sacred Scriptures that we have received earlier, let us all therefore continue to strive to love the Lord our God first and foremost, with all of our hearts, with all of our strength and with everything we have, remembering how He has loved us first in the same way and intensity, and then we should also, as Christians, love one another in the way that we have loved the Lord and ourselves, especially those whom we love the most. May the Lord our most loving God and Father continue to bless us all and strengthen us in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.