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.

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures all of us are reminded that each and every one of us as God’s beloved and holy people ought to listen to Him and obey His Law and commandments. We should not harden our hearts and minds, being stubborn or disobedient against God as many of us and our predecessors had done, which had led them all into sin and wicked ways, and which had brought some of them into the path towards downfall and eternal damnation. As God’s people we must truly be wholehearted in our commitment to Him, in doing what He has taught and shown us all to do, so that we are truly worthy to be called as His disciples and followers, and as His holy and beloved people.

In our first reading today, we heard the Lord speaking to His people through the prophet Amos, speaking about His grievances and anger against them because of their lack of faith in Him and their lack of virtue and their wickedness, all of the evil and unworthy deeds and actions which they had carried out in violation to God’s Law and commandments. The prophet Amos was sent to the northern kingdom of Israel, and he was entrusted with the message of God speaking to the people who have disobeyed Him for a long time, constantly and persistently refusing to follow Him and obey Him despite repeated reminders and help from the Lord through His many prophets and messengers. The people of Israel instead persecuted and oppressed those prophets and messengers that had been sent to them.

That was why the prophet Amos voiced out God’s disapproval and disappointment with the behaviour and attitude shown by His people, who have repeatedly committed all sorts of wicked and sinful actions, deeds and works which were abhorrent to God. The prophet Amos reminded the people both of everything that God had done for the sake of His beloved ones, all the works and efforts He had done in caring and bringing God’s people ever nearer to Him, from His liberation of the Israelites in Egypt, to the things He had done in protecting and providing for the people throughout their way to the Promised Land and protecting them, giving them His blessings, guidance and help throughout the time when they were dwelling in that Promised Land.

Yet, they still rebelled and disobeyed God, and God showed His displeasure by warning them of the impending disaster and hardships that they all would have to face as the consequences of their many sins, evils and wickedness. God has always been patient with His people, loving them and caring for them even despite all these wicked and unruly behaviour that they have displayed before Him and before all the other people. This is therefore a reminder for all of us that while God’s love and mercy are truly enduring and wonderful in all of their richness and perseverance, but ultimately we must embrace this love and mercy wholeheartedly, so that we can be forgiven from our sins and wickedness, and therefore gain the assurance of eternal life.

This is because no sin can exist before God, and since sin is a corruption and dark stain on our souls and our beings, we cannot truly experience the fullness of God’s love and grace as long as our lives continue to be overshadowed by sin and evil in our midst. That was also what happened to the Israelites in the past, as their sins and wickedness were great obstacles which prevented them all from truly being able to come to the Lord and gain the fullness of His grace and love. All of their sins and wickedness have to be answered for and settled, and the same applies to us all as well. If we do not get our sins and faults sorted out before the time of the reckoning of our lives, then we must suffer the consequences of our sins, just as the Israelites had suffered.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples and to the people that if they all wanted to follow Him, they must truly follow Him wholeheartedly, and they must be ready to face challenges and hardships throughout their journey in life. He told them that the Son of Man did not have even a place to lay down His head, and this is a representation of the kind of commitment that would often be required of all those who seek to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. To us, it is a reminder that we are all called to devote ourselves to the Lord and His path, embracing Him and His way fully and completely, by living lives that are truly holy and worthy of God in all the things that we say and do throughout our whole lives.

All of us are reminded to live our lives in accordance with the way of the Lord, abandoning our past sinfulness and wickedness, embracing Him and His love wholeheartedly at all times. We are all called to seek the Lord, His forgiveness, compassion and grace, all that He has ever generously presented to us. All of us are called to a life of virtue, acting in the manner that is acceptable and truly worthy of the Lord at all times. Each and every one of us have been shown how to do this by the Lord Himself and taught of His Law and commandments through His Church. Now what matters is for us to answer God’s call and renew our commitment to Him, to be a people that is truly committed and full of love and faith in Him.

May the Lord continue to bless us all and strengthen each and every one of us in our journey in life. May He continue to guide us all in His Church so that in everything that we say and do, we will continue to do so with true faith and devotion to God, that we will continue to do our best to glorify God through each and every parts of our lives. May God bless us all in our every good efforts, endeavours and works in all things, now and forevermore. Amen.