Liturgical Colour : White
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 : White
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 : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we celebrate the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, celebrating the Most Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the core of our Christian belief in one God Who exists in Three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This belief in God Who is Three but also One at the same time is what made us unique among other monotheistic beliefs out there, and the one that we all held to be the only Universal truth above all else. For we all believe that God, our Supreme Lord and Master, the Creator of all things and the whole entire universe, of all existence and time, is this Most Holy Trinity, the Triune God.
The belief in the Most Holy Trinity had always been kept and upheld. Since the earliest days of the Church, the Christian faithful had believed in the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and while there were differences in how the Holy Trinity was perceived by the faithful, but in general most of them believed in the presence of three distinct Persons and identities in the One God. This belief was also Scriptural in basis and also based on the teachings and traditions of the Apostles and the Church fathers who all received their truth and knowledge not just from the Lord Himself but also through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The most obvious passage is the Lord’s great commission to all His disciples, to go forth to the nations and to baptise all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
This belief in the Holy Trinity is truly crucial and important as part of our Christian identity and faith, as we define our faith within the context of this belief in the Holy Trinity. And in order to understand our Christian faith fully we have to go and understand the nature of the Holy Trinity more fully. Many Christians unfortunately do not truly understand and appreciate the importance of Holy Trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and quite often we may even see and hear those who had wrong and mistaken idea on what the Holy Trinity is truly all about. There are those among us who think that we really worship three different Gods, something that those who do not have the Christian faith also commonly misunderstood about. There were those who criticised Christians simply because they thought that we worship more than one God, misunderstanding the nature of the Holy Trinity.
Then, on the other extreme, we also have those who misunderstood how the Holy Trinity works, in that they think of God as a single God without different Persons, those who claimed to be Unitarian in faith as opposed to our Trinitarian faith. Those who are holding such thoughts and ideas are also quite varied in their thoughts with some of them rejecting that Jesus Christ is God, thinking that He is merely a created Being, a Prophet and not the Son of God, contrary to what our Christian faith and the Apostolic tradition through the Church have revealed to us. As mentioned, since the earliest days of the Church, the teachings of the Church, the Apostolic traditions passed down through the Church have always affirmed the Trinitarian God as the One and only True God, the One and only Saviour of the whole world, the same Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Proverbs, we heard the words relating to the moment of Creation, by the author of the Book of Proverbs, which was King Solomon of Israel according to historical evidence and tradition. In that account about Creation, we heard of the peculiar and interesting words regarding a Being that was created by God, Who was already existent when everything was created and formed, the formation and creation of the entire world and the universe. This was in fact an allusion to the presence of the Holy Trinity in Creation, as we can see from the Book of Genesis, of its first chapter when the author of the Book of Genesis described how the whole world and universe was created by God.
At the moment of Creation, if we go back to the Book of Genesis, we can see how the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit was present all in one, taking part in the work of Creation, as the one and only True God, Who knows all, has dominion and power over all, and oversees all of the entire Creation. God the Father willed Creation into being, and by His words, the Word of God, He willed all of Creation into existence, with the words like, ‘Let there be Light’, ‘Let there be a vault between the waters, to separate the water above the Heavens from the water below it.’, ‘Let the water be filled with living creatures, and let the skies be filled with birds that fly above the earth in the vault of the sky.’ among others, all of which heralded the Creation of the world.
The Book of Genesis began with the account of what happened before the moment of Creation. Back then, there was complete nothingness, and the whole entire universe had not been created yet. The Lord our God existed before time and existence itself, and He is not bound to time and existence. God surpasses time and space, and as mentioned in the Book of Genesis, the Spirit of God was floating and going around and about all things, this Spirit of God refers to the Holy Spirit. How about the Son then? The Son is the Word of God, through Whom the Father created all things, and the Persona mentioned in the first reading today from the Book of Proverbs in fact refers to the Son, as we see things from His perspective.
The Son of God is begotten from the Father, before time and existence, and He is Co-Eternal and Co-Equal with the Father. Since He existed with the Father from even before the beginning of time, He is of the same Essence, same Nature and essentially same as the Father, as part of this Holy Trinity of Godhood. The Church teaches that the same Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Incarnate in the flesh as the Son of Man, is this same Son, Co-Eternal and Co-Equal with the Father. While His humanity was given form only at the moment of the Incarnation after the Annunciation of Mary, His mother, but His divinity has existed from before all ages, just as the Father and the Holy Spirit are also Co-Eternal and Co-Equal.
The Holy Spirit meanwhile according to the Creed, proceeds from the Father to us and the world, and He does so through the Son, as is written and mentioned in our Creed, that the Holy Spirit, the Lord of life, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son, He is adored and glorified. This procession of the Holy Spirit must be understood in the context that it does not imply that the Holy Spirit is inferior or subservient to the Father and/or the Son. Rather, the Holy Spirit is also Co-Equal and Co-Eternal to the Father and the Son, existing before time and creation, and existing in perfect equality to the Father and the Son. Rather, the Holy Spirit naturally comes into this world and to us, by the will of the Father, and hence flowing from Him, and through the Son, through Whom, the Father’s will was made manifest to this world.
Now, I hope that through what we have discussed, all these can help us to better understand the nature of the Most Holy Trinity, the Triune God that we believe in. This is important because if we ourselves do not understand the nature of the Most Holy Trinity or even attempt to learn more about this core and most important tenet of our faith, then how can we expect others to believe in the Lord when the Lord calls us to be His witnesses and missionaries in our communities today? If others asked and even challenged us on our belief in the Most Holy Trinity among other tenets of our faith, because they did not know what they meant, or had the wrong impression or understanding, then are we able to respond confidently and share with them the truth of God as accurately as possible?
We do not have to worry if we cannot comprehend or understand the whole mystery of the Most Holy Trinity of our One God in Three Persons. Even many of the greatest saints and Church fathers struggled to understand the whole meaning and nature of the Most Holy Trinity, and it remains a mystery for all of us as well. It took the Church and the whole assembly of the faithful, and several Ecumenical Councils before the teachings and tenets regarding the Most Holy Trinity were formulated and standardised. And even so, if we were to study the history of the Church, there were numerous heresies and false teachings that disputed this truth that we have for the Holy Trinity, as I mentioned earlier.
And in one occasion, the famous St. Augustine of Hippo, the great Doctor of the Church according to tradition also received a vision as he walked by the seashore, reflecting and being intrigued with the nature of the Holy Trinity, and he saw the vision of a young boy who was trying to empty the entire ocean into a small hole in the sand, and when the saint asked the boy, who according to explanations, was in fact God in disguise, He explained that just as it is impossible to pour the entirety of the ocean into the small hole in the sand, hence, it is impossible for us in our limited intellect and ability to understand, to comprehend the entirety of the mystery of the Holy Trinity. We do not need to worry, but instead we should let the Lord to guide us and teach us His Wisdom and truth, and hold firmly to the true teachings of the Church and our faith.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Trinity Sunday, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, let us all renew our commitment to the Lord, our Triune God, He Who is One and yet existing in the perfect harmony of Three Divine Persons. Let us all ask the Father to bless us all and continue to love each and every one of us at all times, and the Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ to be with us through our journeys of faith in life, inspiring us with His obedience to His Father and His loving sacrifice on His Cross, and the Holy Spirit, for the guidance and the strength, the courage and power to carry out our mission of evangelisation in our world and communities today with faith. May the Lord, the Most Holy Trinity, be with us always, and bless us in our every good works and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
John 16 : 12-15
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. When He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into the whole truth. He has nothing to say of Himself, but He will speak of what He hears, and He will tell you of the things to come.”
“He will take what is Mine and make it known to you; in doing this, He will glorify Me. All that the Father has is Mine; because of this, I have just told you that the Spirit will take what is Mine, and make it known to you.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Romans 5 : 1-5
By faith, we have received true righteousness, and we are at peace with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through Him, we obtain this favour, in which we remain, and we even boast to expect the glory of God.
Not only that, we also boast even in trials, knowing that trials produce patience, from patience comes merit; merit is the source of hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God.
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 8 : 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
When I observe the heavens, the work of Your hands, the moon and the stars You set in their place – what is man that You be mindful of him, the Son of Man that You should care for Him?
Yet You made Him a little lower than the Angels; You crowned Him with glory and honour and gave Him the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet.
Sheep and oxen without number and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea and all that swim the paths of the ocean.
Liturgical Colour : White
Proverbs 8 : 22-31
YHVH created Me first, at the beginning of His works. He formed Me from of old, from eternity, even before the earth. The abyss did not exist when I was born, the springs of the sea had not gushed forth, the mountains were still not set in their place nor the hills, when I was born before He made the earth or countryside, or the first grains of the world’s dust.
I was there when He made the skies and drew the earth’s compass on the abyss, when He formed the clouds above and when the springs of the ocean emerged; when He made the sea with its limits, that it might not overflow. When He laid the foundations of the earth, I was close beside Him, the designer of His works, and I was His daily delight, forever playing in His presence, playing throughout the world and delighting to be with humans.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the occasion of the Feast of St. Barnabas the Apostle, one of the Holy Apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the companion of St. Paul the Apostle, another great Apostle and missionary of the faith. St. Barnabas has dedicated much of his life for the evangelisation of the people in all the communities and places that he has visited, both in his missionary journeys with St. Paul and in his own missionary works and other engagements. As we listened to more of his works and ministry, his dedication and commitment to God, we are reminded that we ourselves have been called to the same mission by the Lord as well.
St. Barnabas according to Apostolic traditions was a Jew who lived and hailed from Cyprus, one of the Jews living in the diaspora, who came to believe in Christ and became one of the earliest disciple and follower of Christ after His Resurrection, and who gave himself for the service of the Lord and His Church, in which he and St. Paul managed to convert many of the Gentiles during the course of his work, and his successes in Antioch and the region as mentioned in our first reading passage today led to him and St. Paul being sent to evangelise and minister to the faithful in many parts across the Mediterranean region. The Apostles prayed over them and sent them to the people in their mission areas to bring the truth of God to them.
St. Barnabas and St. Paul went through many things together, facing obstacles and challenges, having to endure persecutions and rejections just as they managed to gain a lot of success in some places as well. He helped to champion the cause of the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people who converted to the faith, that they should not need to obey and follow the entire extent of the Jewish customs and practices, contrary to what some among the Christian converts, especially from among the Pharisees, had pressured the Church to do. St. Barnabas also did many other things for the benefit of the faithful and the larger Christian community.
St. Barnabas continued to carry on the mission of evangelising to many people and establishing the Christian faith and its foothold in various places and communities. He continued to do his works even after he had parted ways with St. Paul and continued to evangelise to the people with the help of some other helpers, serving the Lord to the best of his ability. He helped many people to know God and to turn away from their sinful ways. St. Barnabas helped to establish many new Church communities and helped them all in remaining faithful to God. Eventually, he was also martyred for his faith in God.
In our Gospel reading today, we then heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples, as He sent them out, in pairs, two by two, to go before Him and to do the works that He had sent them to do. He told them to go from place to place, preaching the words of His truth and love, calling on everyone to turn back towards the Lord and to follow Him. He told them to do all the wonders and works which He would guide them all to do. He told them to live among the people they had been sent to, and God would provide for them wherever they were welcomed, accepted and successful.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians are also sharing in the same mission that God has entrusted to His disciples back then. The works and the mission of the Church are still far from being completed, and we have to realise that we are part of the works and efforts of the Church to continue this mission that the Lord still expects of us to complete. We have to active ministers of the Lord’s works and answer His call towards us, as He called us to be His missionaries, the witnesses of His light, truth and love, His hope and mercy in the midst of our respective communities, many of whom are still living in ignorance of God and His truth.
That is why, each and every one of us should be inspired by the examples set by St. Barnabas and the many other Apostles, disciples, all the saints and martyrs who had dedicated themselves and their lives to love and serve the Lord wholeheartedly. We are all called to live our lives to the fullest and to live them as faithful Christians, such that in our every words, actions and deeds, we will always bring glory to God and that everyone who hears us, sees us and witnesses our works, will come to know that we are truly God’s beloved people, and will come to know God and His truth through us and our lives, and not only just through our words but also through our actions as well.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore heed the Lord’s call and our mission, and be good and faithful Christians at all times. Let us follow in the footsteps of St. Barnabas and the many other saints of God, our holy predecessors, and let us seek to glorify God by our lives and by our every actions. May the Lord continue to guide us and to strengthen us in our resolve to follow Him and to serve Him at all times. May He empower each and every one of us and may He encourage us all with His power and Holy Spirit, that we may continue to be beacons of His light, truth and love at all times. May the Lord bless us all, now and always, forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 10 : 7-13
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a travelling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick : workers deserve to be compensated.”
“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.”
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.
The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.
The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.
With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!
