Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the love and compassion which the Lord has shown to us all, His faithful and beloved people. We are reminded of the generous mercy and kindness which He has shown all of us, by His constant efforts in forgiving us all from our sins and in being patient with us despite us having frequently and constantly disobeyed Him from time to time again. He has even sent us His only Begotten Son to our midst so that by His coming into this world, He may become for us all the source of salvation and hope, and lead us all to Himself once again, reconciling us sinners with Him and allowing us all to find our way back to Him, our loving God and Father.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis the account of the conversation between Abraham and God when he found out about God’s plan to bring about the destruction of the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the great sins and wickedness which they had committed before the Lord, and for their stubbornness in remaining in such sins and wickedness. But Abraham also knew and was aware that his own nephew, Lot and his family dwelled in the lands of Sodom and Gomorrah, and hence, should God bring about destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah, it might have led to harm to Lot and his family too, as with any other righteous people who might be found there in those two places as well. Hence, Abraham went on a series of conversations and requests to the Lord, asking Him to show mercy and withhold His destruction should there be some of those who were righteous in those two places.

God then repeatedly answered and reassured Abraham as he kept on asking about the fate and well-being of those righteous who might be found in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, that for his sake and his faith in Him, He would not punish and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah should there be any of the righteous remaining in those places, as he has asked of Him. However, as we ought to know that there was only so few of the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah, essentially only Lot and his own immediate family, that not even what Abraham had asked of the Lord could be done. In the end, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone from Heaven, but not before the Lord sent His Angels to help rescue Lot and his family to safety.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus was asked by a teacher of the Law who told Him that he would follow Him wherever He would go, and the Lord told this teacher of the Law that following Him would mean moving from place to place, having no stable and steady place for him and anyone else following Him to stay at, and that commitment to follow Him often required them, that is His disciples to dedicate themselves, their time and effort to follow Him and do the works that He has entrusted them to do. And therefore, that was why the Lord asked for commitment from those who have asked Him to be His followers, as if they were still divided and unsure about what they wanted, it would be difficult for them to be truly His disciples and followers.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, first of all, we have to understand this from the context of what the disciples of the Lord did at that time, as the teacher of the Law asked of the Lord, his intentions was quite clear that he wanted to be like those members of the Twelve, the disciples that were always around the Lord and always helped Him to carry out His missions and works. And such missions and works would require one to be thoroughly committed to the cause, and hence, it was imperative that those who wanted to follow the Lord in this manner ought to be truly committed and not be divided in their attention and thoughts. This is essentially what those who have committed themselves to the calling to priesthood and religious life in our Church today have also done as well.

In another occasion, the Lord also told His disciples and those who followed Him, that none of those who have devoted themselves to Him, their effort and time, and all of their works would be ignored and abandoned by the Lord. In fact, the Lord knows all that they have done for Him and hence, if we are truly faithful to the Lord, in the end, we will be vindicated and will be triumphant with Him. There is nothing that the Lord does not know, and as long as we continue to do our best to entrust ourselves to Him and to fully have faith in Him regardless of the challenges and trials that we may encounter, then in the end, we will find true joy and satisfaction in the Lord, our most loving and faithful God.

Today, the Church also celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church. This feast, which is celebrated on the day after the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Holy Apostles and Patron Saints of Rome, has a special significance for the Church in Rome, referring to the Diocese of Rome, of which our Pope is the bishop of, and as the leader of the whole entire Church and particularly as part of the Roman Rite, we have this special connection with the Church of Rome and its bishop, as well as its past and history, in which today we recall the memory of all those who have been martyred together with the two Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, during the first great persecution of Christians in Rome.

At that time, the Christian Church has been growing and flourishing in Rome during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero after Christian missionaries have reached the capital of the Roman Empire during their missions, and the arrival of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Paul the Apostle no doubt strengthened those missionary efforts, with St. Peter having become the first Bishop of Rome and thus the leader of the local Church on top of his responsibilities as the head of the whole Universal Church, while St. Paul in his great missionary zeal and efforts to proclaim the faith and the Good News to the people, especially to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people. However, as the number of Christians continued to grow, it began to lead to frictions with the traditional Roman pagan beliefs and traditions.

And at the time, the Emperor Nero, who was infamous for his lack of morality and his megalomaniac behaviour, began to come into friction with different segments of the Roman state and governance, which eventually would lead to his downfall and overthrow in the Year 68 AD. However, about four years prior to this event, Emperor Nero instigated a great fire in Rome, which many historical evidences pointed out to him being the mastermind behind the events. And he blamed the fire on the Christian populations in Rome, which had already been poorly regarded by the people of Rome, as scapegoats so that the Emperor could get away with his wicked ideas and plans. As a result, many of the Roman Christians were martyred, and it is their memory whom we remember today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we remember the great faith and courage which the first martyrs of the Church of Rome has shown amidst the great trials and challenges facing them, let us all be inspired by their examples so that we ourselves may continue to serve the Lord faithfully at all times, dedicating ourselves to His cause to the best of our abilities. May the Lord be with us always and may He encourage us all to be ever strong in out commitment to walk courageously in the path that He has shown us, and bless our every good efforts and works. Amen.