Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded yet again, to be prepared for the coming of the Lord, just as we have been reminded in the Scripture passage yesterday, which told us about the faithful and the lazy servants, whose were found by their master to be faithful and lazy in their works, and they were rewarded accordingly, one receiving great praises and glory, while the other one was punished severely.

Then in the Gospel passage today, all of us heard another parable by the Lord Jesus, Who told the people the parable of the five wise women and five foolish women, as yet another reminder that each and every one of us as Christians must be prepared and must be vigilant at all times, through our actions, that we continue to be mindful of this as we proceed through our lives in our actions and deeds, in how we relate with one another.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the parable showed us how we mankind can respond to God’s calling to us. As Christians, all of us in particular need to know that we need to be vigilant because we will never know when it is that the Lord will come again, as He has promised. Otherwise we will be like the five foolish women who did not prepare and plan well in advance for any possibilities, and when the bridegroom comes at a surprising time, they were caught unprepared.

As I have asked it yesterday, now I think it is just the right opportunity for me to ask it again from each one of us. How do we want to lead our lives, and what is it that we want to be in the end? To be like the five foolish women who were unprepared for the coming of the bridegroom, or would we rather be like the five wise women who were prepared for all possibilities and prepared everything well in advance?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we are given this choice, to do what we should do in order to walk in the path of the Lord, that we will be able to welcome the Lord when He comes again, and when He sees us, He Who knows everything will find us worthy of His grace and love, and we will receive from Him what He has promised all of us, the gift of eternal life.

We have been entrusted this world for our care, and as we live our lives in this world, God entrusted us to be caretakers for one another, both for our fellow men and for the rest of creation. This is in time with what we pray for today, as together as one Church, we have today, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, remembering that as Christians, we have the obligations to care for all that God had entrusted to us.

This is how we are being prepared, by being righteous, hardworking and committed stewards of creation, and as those who are called by God, all of us should responsibly discharge our duties, by being loving and forgiving, in our relationship with one another, and by being responsible in our relationship with the nature and all that God had created for us.

What does that mean? That means, besides being good to one another we must also be friendly to this world that we live in, in all the beauty and all the animals and plants God had created for us, that we must take great care that we do not abuse them, or bring destruction upon them due to our selfishness and lack of responsibility. Yesterday we just heard the Lord speaking to us about the faithful and loyal servant, who did all that were asked of him, and that is what we should be as well.

We should not condone the acts of those who destroy the environment, for their own selfish gains, and neither should we walk in the same path. We should be responsible in how we obtain what we need in life, in our procurement of food and other things we need for the sustenance of life. We should not be greedy for more than what the Lord has blessed us, and we should not be overcome with the desire for money and wealth, that we destroy what God had given us, just to satisfy our selfish needs and wants.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, today, let us all pray together, as the whole Church, that there will be more and more people who will be called by God, to walk His path and to be prepared thoroughly for His coming, by the good care they have shown for His creation, their responsible life and behaviour, so that they become good stewards of this world, and God will deem them all, all of us here, worthy of Him when He comes.

Let us pray that each of us will be moved to devote our time and energy to volunteer and help out in the many efforts that the Church had begun in ensuring the stability and sustenance of our world around us, and at the same time, not forgetting all those who are hungry and suffering, that we may be generous to give what we can spare, and also our time and effort to help them.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He guide us throughout this journey, that we may be ever more dedicated in living our lives faithfully and filled with the love and care for our fellow men and for the whole world. Let us follow the examples of the five wise women, and in our wisdom, let us be prepared for God at all times. Amen.