Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 5 : 2-3, 5-6, 7
O YHVH, listen to my words and hear my complaint, give heed to my sighs, my King and my God.
You are not a God Who delights in wickedness; evil has no place in You. The arrogant cannot stand before You. You hate all who do evil.
You destroy all who speak falsehood, who thirst for blood and live on lies; all of them YHVH detests.
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Kings 21 : 1-16
Now Naboth, a man from Jezreel, owned a vineyard just beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. Ahab asked Naboth, “Give me your vineyard which is near my house that I may use it for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you its price.”
But Naboth said to Ahab, “YHVH forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” So Ahab went home angry and sad because of what Naboth had told him, that he would not give him the inheritance of his fathers. So he lay down on his bed with his face turned toward the wall and refused to eat.”
His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so angry that you refuse to eat?” He answered, “I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and asked him to sell me his vineyard or to exchange it for another one in exchange; but he answered : I will not give you my vineyard.”
His wife Jezebel said to him, “Are you not king of Israel? Get up and eat and be joyful, for I will give you the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel.” So Jezebel wrote letters using Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and important persons living near Naboth. This is what she wrote in the letters : “Declare a fast and put Naboth on trial. Get two scoundrels to accuse him in this way : ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
The people, the elders and the important persons who lived in his city did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters she sent to them. They declared a fast and put Naboth on trial. The two worthless fellows came in and sat facing him, accusing Naboth before the people, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So the people took him outside the city and stoned him to death. They then sent word to Jezebel that Naboth had been stoned and was dead.
As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she told Ahab, “Now take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the man of Jezreel who refused to sell it to you, for Naboth is now dead.” As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went down to the vineyard of Naboth and took possession of it.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture listening first of all to the account from the First Book of Kings in which we heard of the great drought and famine that occurred during the reign of king Ahab of Israel. At that time, king Ahab was infamous as one of the most sinful among the kings of Israel, as he and his wife, queen Jezebel did not just disobey God and led the people of the northern kingdom of Israel into sin, but their deeds such as the murder of Naboth the vinegrower was truly wicked and evil. Their sins and disobedience against God were leading the people away from God and His righteous path, and this was certainly known by the Lord, Who has always watched over His people.
Therefore, that was why the Lord sent them all the punishment of drought and famine to humble those wicked and proud rulers, and all those who thought that they did not need God. The drought and famine were not meant to make the people to suffer without reason or justice. Rather, the Lord wanted to remind them all that their wickedness and evil have not been in accordance with what He had shown and taught them all to do through His Law and the Prophets, and as a result, with nature out of balance, they had to suffer by their refusal to obey the Lord and by ignoring His calls for them to repent from their sins and return to Him. In truth, God did all that because He loved them all and wanted them to be rescued from their wickedness.
Meanwhile, the prophet Elijah who was sent to minister to the people of Israel had to suffer a lot as well, as he was one of the few prophets who remained in Israel. Many of the other, earlier prophets had been persecuted and even killed, exiled and cast out from the land. Prophet Elijah was alone in his courageous efforts to turn the people back towards God, against not only just the king and the queen, but also against the worshippers of Baal and the other pagan gods, with the Baal priests alone numbering at least four hundred and fifty. It was truly a very disheartening experience for the prophet Elijah, and yet Elijah trusted in God and allowed Him to perform His wonderful works through him.
It would be difficult not to think that the prophet Elijah might have considered to give up his very difficult and challenging ministry, working among a people that were not open and willing to listen to his words and the words of God. But God reassured Elijah that those who remained faithful in Him would not be disappointed, for there would be justice given to them, just as the right justice and punishment would also be due to those who consistently and stubbornly refused to listen to Him. God does not remain silent against those who persecuted His righteous and just ones, and He is always present and by the side of all those who are truly committed towards Him, those who carry out His good works.
In our Gospel reading today, then we heard of the famous Sermon on the Mount by the Lord Jesus, also known as the Beatitudes. These are a series of eight pronouncements by the Lord, as a very powerful reassurance to those who have listened to the Lord, followed Him, obeyed Him and walked in His ways. This is just what the Lord reassured the prophet Elijah with, and after hearing the punishment due to the wicked in our first reading, then we heard how being faithful to God is truly a good thing. The Lord wants each and every one of us to live our lives well, in accordance to the path that He has set before us, with the precepts and commandments that He had put in place to teach and guide us in our ways.
Therefore, as we heard, the Lord said that we are truly blessed if we are poor in spirit, mourn, gentle, hunger and thirst, gentle, merciful and being peacemakers, and these are reminders for all of us that as Christians, we are called to live our lives with virtues, obeying God’s laws, show love to our fellow brethren, and when we encounter challenges and difficulties, persecutions and troubles for being faithful then we must not give up our faith. All of us have to remain strong in our faith and stay committed to the end. We should not easily be swayed by the temptations and pressures found all around us, but instead remaining ever steady and ever vigilant in living our faith courageously and with conviction at each and every moments in our lives.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scriptures today, we are all encouraged and called to walk with the Lord and to follow Him. We are called to devote ourselves, our time and effort for the greater glory of His Name following the examples of the ancient prophets like Elijah, as well as our many saints and martyrs, our predecessors in the faith. And we are reassured by God, that no matter what, if we are faithful to Him, then we will be protected and strengthened. We are the beloved and holy people of God, and God Who is loving towards us, will always be with us and will bless us all in our every endeavours and good efforts for His greater glory, at all times and in every moments.
Let us all therefore renew our commitment to be ever more faithful from now on, to be more Christian in our way of life, to be good examples of our Christian virtues and actions in our every way of life and in our every interactions with one another. May the Lord be our Guide, source of strength and provide us with what we need, just as He protected and guided the prophet Elijah in his perilous missions and journeys. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 5 : 1-12
At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :
“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted.”
“Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land. Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.”
“Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.”
“Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. This is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 120 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
I lift up my eyes to the mountains – from where shall come my help? My help comes from YHVH, Maker of heaven and earth.
Will He let your foot slip, the One watching over you? Will He slumber? No, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
YHVH is your Guardian; YHVH is at your side; and you, in His shade; sunstroke will not be for you by day, nor the spell of the moon, by night.
YHVH guards you from every evil; He will protect your life. YHVH watches over your coming and going, both now and forever.
Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Kings 17 : 1-6
Now Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As YHVH, the God of Israel Whom I serve lives, neither dew shall drop nor rain fall except at My command.”
Then the word of YHVH came to Elijah, “Leave this place and go eastward. Hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook and, for your food, I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
So Elijah obeyed the word of YHVH and went to live by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. There the ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that we should always be vigilant in living our lives, in striving to be always living with virtue, temperance and moderation, in following what the Lord Himself had taught us to do, and in resisting the many pressures, temptations and many other worldly desires, ambitions and all the things that can leaf us astray in our respective paths towards the Lord. As Christians, all of us are reminded that we should always do our best in showing good examples of our actions, words and deeds, rooted firmly in our faith in God so that by our each and every one of them, we may inspire many more people to follow God and to know Him through us.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle in which the Apostle spoke about the fact of how the faithful people of God, those to whom the Apostles and the missionaries had proclaimed and introduced the salvation in Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour, had received the revelation of God’s love and truth, as well as the guidance and wisdom through the gift of the Holy Spirit that had been imparted to them at their baptism, so that each and every one of them might indeed know how they all ought to live their lives according to the way and manner that God Himself has shown and taught them, and inspired them all through the Holy Spirit. And each one of them were indeed called to put their trust and faith in God, and to live virtuously.
Therefore St. Peter encouraged the faithful in the various communities that he addressed this letter and epistle to, in order to encourage and strengthen their faith, to be willing to walk ever more courageously in the path that the Lord had led them through. There would indeed be plenty of trials and challenges, hardships and difficulties in their paths, but they need to continue to uphold their beliefs and what they had been called to do, to be truly righteous, virtuous and just in everything that they do, in doing what is right for them as the people of God. And this is therefore a reminder to all of us as well so that we may also do our best in living our lives in this way so that we may touch the hearts and the lives of others around us, by our faith and our dedication to God, and by the love we show to those whom we love and care for.pe
Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples with the parable of the wicked and evil tenants, in which story was highlighted how the tenants who were entrusted with the care of the lands and fields that the landowner had put in their care and responsibilities, acted up against him and refused to fulfil their part of the obligation, refusing to pay their fees and dues unlike what they had already agreed and likely had signed contracts on as part of their tenancy agreement. It was likely implied that their greed, ambition and desires had led them to commit such heinous and wicked actions as described in that parable.
We heard how they refused to listen to the servants sent to them to remind them, persecuting, attacking and even murdering them. And it culminated in them committing an even greater error in attacking and murdering the son of the landowner whom the latter had sent to them, thinking that they would at least respect and listen to his son. If we carefully look through the parable again, we can see how the Lord Jesus used this parable to highlight what had happened and how the people of God themselves had treated the prophets and messengers that God had sent to them to remind them, represented by those servants, while also predicting at the same time how they would treat the Son of God, referring to Himself, in how they would persecute Him and crush Him with sufferings and death.
Through what we have heard in today’s passage from this parable of the evil and wicked tenant, we are reminded that it is also by our own wickedness and evils, our attachments to worldly ambitions, greed and desires that we have behaved like those evil and wicked tenants. And yet, God still sent to us, again and again so many help and reminders, despite our rejections and attitudes in refusing to listen to Him. God’s love for us is truly unconditional, especially in how He has loved us all and gave us all the best and ultimate gift in His own Son, Whom He had given us all to be our Saviour. Through His wounds, all the hurts and sufferings that He had endured, Christ our Lord and Saviour had brought us all the assurance of eternal life and salvation, opening the path to Heaven itself.
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Justin, a great saint and man of God and a holy martyr of the Church and the Christian faith. St. Justin is a great example for all of us in how he completely dedicated his life to the service of God and in his persistence in enduring all the challenges and persecutions he faced, even right up to the moment of his martyrdom, always full of faith and commitment to God. St. Justin was a Greek man who converted to the Christian faith when he encountered an old man, who was likely a Syrian Christian by the seashore, and engaged with him in a dialogue about God, convincing him that the faith in God, His prophets and messengers are far better and superior than engaging in the wisdom and debates of the philosophers, as St. Justin was searching for the meaning of life and truth back then.
Afterwards, St. Justin dedicated himself wholly to the pursuit of the Good News, convinced fully of the message of the truth which Christ Our Lord has brought unto us, and which the Lord has revealed to us with His coming, and through the Holy Spirit that has been sent unto us all. St. Justin proclaimed the Lord henceforth, all of His truth and Good News, and began teaching as a Christian philosopher, gathering quite a number of people who were convinced by what he has been preaching about the Lord, with great wisdom and zeal. St. Justin and some of his students, according to Church traditions, were persecuted and martyred by the Roman authorities during one of the episodes of the persecution of Christians. He remained firm and resolute in his faith right up to the very end, inspiring countless generations of Christians afterwards.
May the Lord continue to guide each and every one of us, and may He empower all of us to live ever more graciously and with greater commitment in His Presence, according to His will, and be inspired by the great examples of our holy predecessors, His great servants, like St. Justin and many others. May He help us to overcome the temptations of worldly greed, ambitions and desires, and help us to follow Him wholeheartedly and faithfully at all times, in each and every one of our words, actions and deeds, at all times. May He bless our works and efforts, and all of our endeavours for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Mark 12 : 1-12
At that time, using parables, Jesus went on to say, “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press and built a watch tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenants and went abroad. In due time he sent a servant to receive from the tenants his share of the fruit. But they seized the servant, struck him and sent him back empty-handed.”
“Again the man sent another servant. They also struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent another and they killed him. In the same way they treated many others : some they beat up and others they killed. One was still left, his beloved son. And so, last of all, he sent him to the tenants, for he said, “They will respect my son.”
“But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him and the property will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
And Jesus added, “Have you not read this text of the Scriptures : The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone; this is the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it?”
They wanted to arrest Him, for they realised that Jesus meant this parable for them, but they were afraid of the crowd; so they left Him and went away.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 90 : 1-2, 14-15ab, 15c-16
You, who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who rest in the shadow of the Almighty, say to YHVH, “My Stronghold, my Refuge, my God in Whom I trust!”
“Because they cling to Me, I will rescue them,” says YHVH. “I will protect those who know My Name. When they call to Me, I will answer; in time of trouble, I will be with them.
“I will deliver and honour them. I will satisfy them with long life; and show them My salvation.”
Liturgical Colour : Red
2 Peter 1 : 2-7
May grace and peace abound in you, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus, Our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and piety. First, the knowledge of the One Who called us through His own glory and Might, by which we were given the most extraordinary and precious promises. Through them, you share in the divine nature, after repelling the corruption and evil desires of this world.
So, strive with the greatest determination, and increase your faith, with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with moderation, moderation with constancy, constancy with piety, piety with mutual affection, mutual affection with charity.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 