Sunday Mass sermon

by

Sunday, 24 November 2024 : Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Thirty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the Thirty-Fourth and therefore the Last Sunday of Ordinary Time for this current liturgical year. Beginning next Sunday, the season of Advent will begin and it will also mark the beginning of the new liturgical year cycle. On this Sunday therefore we celebrate the great occasion of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, celebrating and honouring the Kingship of Our Lord, His Universal Dominion and Kingship, Mastery and Rule over the whole Creation and over all things. On this day we glorify our Lord and King, proclaiming Him as our only Sovereign and Master, the One Who is ruling over our lives, renewing our commitments and dedication to Him, as His followers and disciples, and as His one united people, the Church of God.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Daniel in which the vision of Daniel was recounted to us, the vision of God on His Throne, One of a Great Age and the Son of Man, to Whom Daniel saw that the One of Great Age had granted power, sovereignty and dominion over the whole world. This vision was in fact a prelude and premonition of Christ’s coming into this world, the revelation that God would indeed send none other than His own Beloved and Begotten Son, the Divine Word of God, to be incarnate in our midst and to dwell among us, ruling over us all as our Lord and King. And as He comes upon us in the flesh, adopting our human nature and existence, He also made His Kingdom to be manifest in our midst, as something that is real and tangible.

We are also reminded that ultimately, our allegiance and obedience lies and rests in God. Of course we are parts and members of our own respective countries, states and other worldly authorities that we are under and subject to, but we must always keep in mind and remember that all the authority and power they have ultimately came from God, our true Lord and King, our Master and Ruler, Who has entrusted and delegated His power and authority to those whom He had chosen and called to be the ones to exercise that power and authority on daily basis, be it in the secular world, in our states and countries, our governments and worldly rulers, as well as in the Church of God, the Pope and the many bishops all around the world, who have been entrusted with all of us, God’s flock and holy people.

Then, in our second reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle where St. John recounted to us his heavenly vision of the events of the end of times and the Final Judgment, the ultimate triumph of the Lord and His victory over all evil, sin and death. St. John had witnessed all those things so that he might be able to encourage and strengthen every one of us, God’s holy and faithful people, reminding us that Our Lord, He Who is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lord, Master and Ruler of all will come again in the end of times, to gather us all and to lead us into the eternal bliss, true happiness and joy that He has promised and reassured us all these while. As long as we have faith and trust in Him, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, we will be saved.

From our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. John, we heard of the account of the time when the Lord was going through His Passion or Suffering, when Pontius Pilate, the Governor and Procurator of Judea was questioning Him about why the chief priests handed Him over to him to be condemned to death and crucified. Then, in that conversation and exchange we heard Pilate’s question to Jesus, asking Him about the accusations that the chief priests had been making against Him regarding the claim that He called Himself as the King of the Jews. This false claim and accusation was made by the chief priests against the Lord because they knew that it was high treason for anyone to claim to be king and ruler when the land was under Roman dominion and rule.

It was then that the Lord replied to Pilate that He is indeed a King, although not in the manner that he would think or know of. The Lord Himself mentioned that His Kingdom is not of this world, in the sense that His Kingdom, Dominion, power and sovereignty cannot be bound or described in the manner that any other earthly kingdoms and dominions, states and realms can be defined and bound. His Kingship is truly Universal and all-encompassing, and every nation, dominions, realms and other earthly boundaries are all under His rule and power, and this is the truth and reality that every one of us have to believe and trust in, knowing that because God is our Lord and King, hence, we are all the people of the King of Kings, the ones whom He had called and chosen to be His own beloved people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to these words from the Scriptures and as we all ponder upon the reality of the Kingship of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment in the Lord, to proclaim Him as our one true Lord and King. And if we truly believe and accept our Lord Jesus as King, then we must truly enthrone Him in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, in our whole being, and strive as always to put Him at the very centre of our existence and lives. This is what we have been invited and reminded to do, to follow and obey Our King at all times and in all circumstances. As Christians, we must always be ready to proclaim our allegiance to God and our adherence to His ways and teachings, His Law and commandments at every moments in our lives.

The problem often then lies in the fact that many of us do not truly proclaim and hold fast to the fact and belief that Our Lord Jesus Christ, our God, is our Lord and King, our Master and Ruler. Why is that so, brothers and sisters? That is because we often allow the temptations present all around us, the temptations of power, money, worldly desires and attachments to distract us and pull us away from God and His path. And we also end up making those things to be our idols and masters instead of the Lord. Indeed, there are plenty of false idols around us, the idol of money, possessions, ambitions and other forms of worldly pursuits and desires that can keep us away from being truly committed and faithful to the Lord, our true Master and King.

May our Lord and Saviour, our King and Master, Jesus Christ, the Almighty and All-Encompassing Master and Ruler of the whole entire Universe and Creation continue to bless and guide us in all of our every endeavours, efforts and works. May all of us as His beloved and faithful people, His one flock and nation, all remain united in total obedience and commitment to Him as our Lord and King, our true Master in all things. Let us all and our devotion to our King continue to inspire many others in how we live our lives, becoming the great and shining beacons of truth, hope and love, revealing the Good News of God to all creation. Christus Vincit! Christus Regnat! Christus Imperat! Amen.

by

Sunday, 17 November 2024 : Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of the Poor (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we heard from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures about the coming of the end of times which we all should be well prepared for in our journey of faith and life as Christians, as we are all reminded that the Lord is sure to come again just as He Himself said that He will, and at that time, all of us shall have to give an account of everything that we have done, as well as whatever it is that we have not yet done, or failed to do in whatever opportunities and chances that the Lord has provided to us. We must always remember that as Christians we have to embody our faith in God and follow Him wholeheartedly through our every actions and deeds, in our every interactions and relationship with one another.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Daniel the prophecy of the coming of the end times which was one of the apocalyptic prophecies mentioned by Daniel, predicting the time of struggle and strife for God’s holy people, and how despite all the challenges and trials they will have to face, God will lead them all to victory, and the figure of the great Archangel, St. Michael, the leader and prince of the Heavenly Host features prominently in this vision, being echoed in the later Revelations according to St. John the Apostle. It is a reminder that the end of times and the time of reckoning and the Last Judgment is something that is real and certainly will come for us, although none of us will know when exactly this will happen for sure, as only the Lord Himself knows the time and occasion of His coming.

But we must always have faith in Him and have trust and complete faith in His compassion and love for each and every one of us, much as He has shown it to us through His beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, through Whom God has brought His salvation and redemption, making His love manifested and real to us, tangible and approachable to us, that has been the focus of our second reading this Sunday from the Epistle to the Hebrews. The author of this Epistle spoke at length about the role that Christ our Lord, as the Son of God and Son of Man both, had in becoming the one true Eternal High Priest for all of us mankind, offering on our behalf the perfect and most worthy offering for the atonement of all of our sins, and to redeem us into eternal life.

In our Gospel passage, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark we heard of the Lord Himself telling the disciples of the sign of times and everything that will happen for sure at the time of the Lord’s own knowing. He told them there will be signs accompanying His coming, but no one can surely know of the exact time that He will come. The Lord then highlighted to them of the lesson from the fig tree, which bears fruit at the appropriate time and with signs accompanying them. Therefore if the Lord Himself has already affirmed the fact and has repeatedly reminded His disciples of the coming of this time of judgment and reckoning then we have to keep in mind our way of life and faith in this world, so that we will not be found unworthy at the appropriate time.

Each and every one of us as Christians have received from God and through His Church the revelation of God’s truth, His Good News and of everything that will happen, as contained within the Scriptures and as the Lord has revealed to His Church through the Holy Spirit, bestowed upon the Apostles and through them to all of us. And because of that, it is important that we should be ever ready to welcome the Lord by doing our very best in every opportunities and moments, to be exemplary in all the things that we say and do so that we may be growing ever stronger in our faith and commitment to God, and be the shining examples and the worthy beacons of God’s light and truth in our world today, bearing His love and Good News to all the people whom we encounter daily in our lives.

This Sunday, being the last Sunday before the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King, the Church also celebrates the World Day of the Poor, which was instituted by our current Pope, Pope Francis who wanted us all to remember the poor around us, those who need our care and compassionate love as we must realise that there are many around us who are struggling to make ends meet, and there are many of those all around the world who are suffering various ailments and troubles, from the effects of poverty and from injustice and oppression, those who have been marginalised and ostracised because of their background and origins, and all those who have no one to love and care for them. Each and every one of us are challenged today therefore to be the ones to bear the love of God to them all, and to truly embody our faith in God by our actions, especially our help and care to the poor and those less fortunate around us.

That is why we have to be ever active and be aware of our calling in life, our mission and commitment which the Lord has entrusted to all of us, the commission which God has given us to do in our respective lives and capacities, in the many opportunities and chances He has provided to us. We have been given the freedom to choose our course of action and path in life, and hence, as we have discussed about the end of times and the coming reckoning of our lives and worthiness, which will surely come at the end of time, let us all therefore remind one another and be ever more committed to live our lives in a most Christian manner, following the inspiration and example from the Lord Himself, Who has loved us all so much that as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews mentioned that He has given Himself to be the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having been reminded of the coming of the Lord and the moment of the reckoning of our lives, let us all therefore renew our commitment to follow the Lord ever more faithfully from now on. Let our every efforts and endeavours, our words, actions and deeds from now on continue to bring glory to God and proclaim His goodness before the people whom we meet and encounter in life. Let us all do our part to contribute to the good works and efforts of the Church, and to follow the Lord in all the things He has entrusted to us to do. May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, and may He empower and encourage us all to remain ever more committed and faithful to Him, particularly in our show of love and care for those around us who are in need and suffering from poverty and hardships in life. Amen.

by

Sunday, 10 November 2024 : Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to be generous in loving others and to be kind upon everyone around us, and for us to give generously from our hearts, and to heed the plight and sufferings from those who are less fortunate than us, especially so if we are in the position to help and assist our fellow brothers and sisters. Especially as Christians we are always reminded to be full of love firstly for the Lord, and then also to be full of the same love towards our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We should not ignore that calling and the opportunity for us to reach out to others who are in need, to show generous love through our daily actions and living.

In our first reading this Sunday, taken from the First Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, we heard the story of the prophet Elijah who had been sent to the town of Zarephath away from the land of Israel at the time when the land of Israel was experiencing great drought and famine due to the sins of the Israelites and their king Ahab, who was wicked in his actions and who disobeyed God. The prophet Elijah went to the town of Zarephath and encountered a widow there who was struggling to make a living for herself and her son amidst the great drought and famine, and it was then that the prophet Elijah asked the widow for some food, to which the widow replied that she barely had any food left for herself and for her son, which she was going to make for them to prepare for their impending deaths from the famine.

It was then that the prophet Elijah reassured the widow of God’s love and providence, and that she should trust his words and the assurances of the Lord, that in her generosity and goodwill, she would be well taken care of by the Lord, since no one who had shown love and kindness on God’s servants would be ignored or abandoned by God. And hence, as the woman willingly shared her share of food, making bread for Elijah, the messenger of God to eat, sharing from her own lack of food and poverty, Elijah showed her God’s power and providence just as he had said, that the jug of oil and the flour would not run out till the day rain returned to the land of Israel and the famine disappeared from the land and the area. Through this story, we are all reminded that we can still love and be generous even when we are lacking and in need ourselves, and God will remember us for all this love we have shown this way.

Then, in our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard about the author of the Epistle telling the faithful from Jewish background and origin, of the role that Christ, the Saviour of all the whole world had played in our salvation, by His coming into the world as the Son of God, manifested and incarnate in the flesh, appearing before us all and showing us all God’s ever generous and tender love, to be our one True and Eternal High Priest, willingly taking up upon Himself the punishments and the consequences due to our many and innumerable sins. Through His ever generous and wonderful love, God has opened the doors of His mercy and salvation to all of us through His Son, through the breaking of His Body and the shedding of His Blood, by which He made us all to be righteous and to have our sins atoned for completely.

And we heard how the author explained that the Lord had done this once and for all, offering Himself as the perfect and worthy sacrifice in atonement for all of our sins, and He did all these while shedding all of His glory and majesty, having chosen to become the lowest and most despicable of all things to share His ultimate and most powerful and enduring love with us, love that is most generous, unconditional and perfect, teaching and showing all of us what it truly means for us to love, to have this love for others around us, to be truly selfless and generous in loving everyone and not just ourselves. And He showed this to us, to continue to reassure and strengthen us, reminding us that He will always be with us, journeying by our side through all the struggles and difficulties.

In our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard of the words of the Lord from the Gospel according to St. Mark in which He praised the great faith and generosity of a poor old widow who gave donation from her own poverty, a tiny amount of two copper coins, as compared to the rich donations of the many other people around her. In saying so, the Lord was not in fact being biased against the rich and those who have given a lot of money, as those people could have also been genuinely generous and full of love towards others. Rather, what the Lord was trying to point out to His disciples and to all of us is that generosity and love is something that we should never try to quantify or compare. We should not try to compare to see who have given more or who would be rewarded more, but rather focus on doing what we can, and share what we are capable of sharing for the benefit of others around us.

This means that like the old widow of Zarephath and the old woman at the Temple, who have given generously from even their own poverty, when they themselves were lacking, we should always be ready to share our blessings and whatever we have, not counting whether it will profit us or affect us financially, but giving and sharing because we truly care and want to help others. Of course at the same time we should also be prudent and mindful that what we share do not end up causing difficulties and hardships for ourselves and those who are under our care like our families and children, our parents and others as well. Essentially, we are all called to love generously and constantly at all times, to be prudent in making good use of the blessings and opportunities which we have been given by God, be it plenty or little, more or less that we have been blessed with.

As Christians, let us all continue to love generously and sincerely, following the examples of the Lord Himself, Who has loved us so patiently and generously even when we have not loved Him, forgotten about Him and disregarded His kindness, compassion, mercy and love. Let us all learn to love generously like Christ our Lord, and to love one another as He has loved us, and of course to love Him most consistently and with greater faith and dedication as we should have done. Let us all continue to carry out our daily actions and works with love, to be truly exemplary in showing care and concern towards one another, particularly to our brothers and sisters around us who are less fortunate and suffering, those who are unloved and neglected by the society.

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate and generous God continue to show His love towards us, His beloved children and people, and may He continue to inspire all of us to love Him and to love our fellow brethren as well, to love ever more generously and sincerely at all times. In the words of the Prayer of Generosity of St. Ignatius of Loyola, let us all pray : Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve You as You deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not to seek for reward, save that of knowing that I do Your most holy will.’

May all of us be truly full of love and compassion, kindness and mercy, care and concern, now and always. Amen.

by

Sunday, 3 November 2024 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday all of us as God’s holy and beloved people, as Christians, we are all called to remember that our most important mission in life is to obey the will of God and to obey and fulfil His Law and commandments, everything which He has entrusted and provided to us so that we may find our way towards Him with assurance and guarantee amidst all the distractions, temptations, pressures, coercions and all the things which had often misled so many among our predecessors down the wrong and wicked paths in life, away from God and His salvation. As Christians, all of us have received the truth of God, His Good News through His Church, and also His love manifested to us through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

From our first reading this Sunday, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, in which the Lord told His people, the Israelites during the time of their Exodus and journey from the land of Egypt to the land that He has promised to them, we have heard of the Lord speaking to all of them through Moses, exhorting and encouraging them to remain true and faithful to the Law, commandments and rules which He had set before them, so that they may truly obey them and do not fall into the path towards damnation, which the devil and all of his fellow forces of evil have always been active in trying to lead us into those slippery slopes and traps that they have laid in the path of those who are faithful to God and many others. But God has always been full of love for His people, and He has always been patient in helping and guiding us to overcome our troubles and difficulties, the challenges and problems we face in our respective paths and journeys.

The Lord reminded His people that as long as they all faithfully kept His commandments and observed them wholeheartedly, loving Him above all else and doing what He has taught and shown them, in how He has generously and constantly loved them, in how they interacted with one another, then they would continue to walk under His grace and protection, and His blessings and wonderful guidance, providence and help would continue to shelter and aid them in their moments and times of need. The Lord has repeatedly proven His love and faithfulness many times, and yet, many among those people whom God had loved so much, still hardened their hearts and minds, rebelled against Him and refused to believe in Him or follow Him.

Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because of our own pride and arrogance, our thinking and perception that we know what we are doing and that we ourselves can be in charge of our paths and that we know it better, even than the Lord’s words, wisdom and guidance. Many of those Israelites and their descendants afterwards, and many other people throughout history had fallen into this path of disobedience and rebellion against God as they trusted more in their own intellect, power, wisdom and understanding of the Law, twisting the Law, the commandments and rules of God to serve their own purposes, ambitions and desires instead of to help them to love the Lord more as the Law had been intended by God. By the time of the coming of the salvation of God through His Son, about two millennia ago, the Law of God had become so different in how it has been practiced as compared to God’s true intentions.

This is why in our Gospel passage today, we heard again another reminder from the Lord to us, through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who was answering and responding to the question from a teacher of the Law who had been asking Him regarding which Law would be the most important among all the Law and commandments of God. By the time of the Lord Jesus and His ministry, there were no less than six hundred and thirteen precepts, rules and laws, which were contained in the Torah, or the first five books of the Old Testament, where the Lord passed down those Law and commandments through Moses. But on top of what God had passed down, those Law and commandments had gone through extensive modification, amendments, changes and adaptations by the people.

Most importantly, even since the day and time of Moses, many amendments and adjustments had been made to adjust to the people’s stubborn attitudes, and their refusal to obey to the Lord, and as the Law was passed down through the centuries, and especially by the time of the Lord Jesus, there were those who sought to interpret and the Law very strictly according to the customs and traditions practiced by the Jewish people, the descendants of the Israelites, and worse still, many of them no longer understood or appreciated why the Lord gave the Law to His people in the first place. Some like the Pharisees and some of the teachers of the Law were so fixated on obeying the full details, tenets and rites of the Law, in all of its vast complexities, that they obsessed over and idolised this careful observance they had on the Law, and persecuted those who did not follow the Law in the same way as them.

And thus the Lord reminded all of His people that the Law was meant for one and only one thing, that is for love, and to teach us all how to love. First and foremost, it is meant to help us to know how to love the Lord our God once again, to put Him always first and foremost in our lives, and not to be distracted by the love of all other worldly desires, pursuits, attachments and ambitions that had often distracted, pulled and tempted us away from the ability to truly love the Lord and prioritise Him in our lives. And at the same time, we are also expected to show the same love in all of our actions, works and deeds, in our every interactions with one another, to be truly generous in loving our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Since God loves each and every one of us, how can we truly call ourselves His beloved children and people, if we hold hatred for others around us?

And the Lord Jesus Himself has shown us the perfect example of this obedience to the Law and of the way how we all should love each other. As mentioned in our second reading today from the Epistle to the Hebrews, He is our High Priest Who has offered on our behalf the perfect and most worthy offering of Himself as the Paschal Lamb, in obeying perfectly the will of His heavenly Father, to become the sacrifice to bring about atonement for our innumerable sins, and to reconcile each and every one of us to the Lord, our Master and Creator. And He did all these because He loved His Father, obeying Him out of love, and also for the same love which He has for every one of us without exception, that He has given to us by Him bearing the burdens and the brunt of our punishments for us, dying on the Cross for us so that by His death, we may be restored into life eternal.

Now, if the Lord, our most loving God, Father and Creator has loved us so much that He has given us all His only Begotten Son, to be our Saviour, to suffer and die for our sake so that we may be strengthened and reconciled to Him through this same Saviour, then all of us Christians, who have been called as such by our faith and trust in the promise of Christ, we all should also be filled with the same love, following in Christ’s own examples and actions, in loving God our Father first and foremost above all else, and in loving our fellow brothers and sisters around us, caring for the need of all those who are not as fortunate as us. We should always be genuine in our love, care and concern for everyone so that by our loving examples, we may truly be worthy to be called Christians, to be a people who are truly holy and beloved by God.

May the Lord continue to shower us all with His love as He has always done, and may He continue to stir in our hearts the desire to love others genuinely and generously at all times. May all the things we do in life, all the words we speak, the actions we carry out, all the interactions we have with one another always be done with love in the centre of everything that we say and do, to be the beacons of Christ’s light and love in all circumstances and in all places. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, in everything that we do for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

by

Sunday, 27 October 2024 : Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us heard from the words of the Sacred Scriptures the reminders for us of the richness of God’s love and mercy, which He has always provided generously to us all, to remind all of us that we are truly beloved and precious in the eyes of God, without exception, and that all of us have the chance and the opportunity to seek full reconciliation and reunion with God, our loving Father and Creator, our Master and Lord, through everything that He had done for us in order to make all of these possible for us. He provided the path for us to return to Him and patiently gave us the guidance and help so that we may find our way and be restored to grace in Him.

In our first reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of assurance and comfort from the Lord Who was telling His people to have faith in Him and in His salvation because He would not forget about them and He would always care for all of them without exception, and He would show them His mercy and love, His compassion and passionate mercy, as He led them all to the right path and reconciliation with Him, by fulfilling everything that He has promised to them and to their forefathers, of the salvation that He has brought unto them all through the Messiah or the Saviour that He has revealed to them, that is none other than His own Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom the fullness of God’s love and power has been manifested in our midst.

Then, linking to that reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, continuing with the Epistle to the Hebrews in our second reading this Sunday, we are all reminded by the author of that Epistle of the role which our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God has taken up at the moment when He accomplished perfectly everything that God had planned in order to save us all mankind. It was the moment when He redeemed and freed all of us mankind from the slavery and domination by sin, evil and darkness, He has become our one and true, Eternal High Priest, the One Who bridged between us and God our loving Father and Creator, from Whom we have once been separated and sundered due to our disobedience and sins, our wickedness and evils.

As our High Priest, Our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour has gathered all of our prayers and needs, our petitions and sorrowful longing for God our loving Father, and He offered all of His prayer and ours together, as He united Himself to us and our humanity, while bearing up the heavy Cross of the burdens of our sins and wickedness, the punishments for all those evils and sins, which He does not have to bear for us, and we should have indeed faced the consequences of our faults and errors, and yet, our Lord willingly and lovingly, selflessly and kindly bore for us those punishments on our behalf, so that by His sufferings and by the breaking of His Most Precious Body and the outpouring of His Most Precious Blood, Christ our Lord may redeem us and lead us all to eternal life and true happiness in God.

For our sins and wickedness, our evils and the corruptions of the darkness around us are so great that no amount of offerings, sacrifices or prayers could have sufficed to atone for our many trespasses and sins, the combined weight of all of our sins and all the burdens of our punishments, except for the one and only worthy offering that is found only in Christ, Who is both our High Priest and also the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God, Who has been slaughtered for us on the Altar of His Cross at Calvary. That like the blood of the lamb having saved the Israelites in Egypt during the Passover, thus, through the Most Precious Blood of the Lamb of God, all of us are rescued and saved from the corruption of sin and death, and we have been washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb, made pure and worthy again of God.

Finally, in the Gospel passage of this Sunday from the Gospel according to St. Mark, we heard of the story of the moment when the Lord encountered a blind man during His mission, and in that occasion, Bartimaeus, the blind man, the son of Timaeus, did not give up on trying to ask help from the Lord, despite the approval of everyone around him, who discouraged him, as he shouted to beg the Lord, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’. The Lord heard his cries and words well, and He saw the faith in the blind man, seeing how the man kept on trying his best to seek His help and did not lose faith despite all the challenges and discouraging comments and obstacles that he had to face in the midst of him striving to seek the Lord and His help.

Brothers and sisters, we are just like Bartimaeus, the blind man who has been healed by God. We may be physically well and have no issues with our eyes and vision, but like Bartimaeus, there is a part of us that is not whole and well, and for all of us, we all suffer from this affliction of sin, which had made us all spiritually unwell and unfit. The Lord is always ready to come and heal us, and to welcome us back to Him, just as He had done and reassured us all through His Son, and everything that He has done for us. But we must first have faith in Him, and seek Him like what Bartimaeus had done, to call on Him and to have the resolve and conviction to follow Him, to find Him and His love, His mercy and compassion. Can we do that, brothers and sisters in Christ?

Let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment in the Lord, doing our best to seek Him and to centre our lives and existence on Him, to do our best to live our lives in the manner that He has shown and taught us to do. Let us no longer harden our hearts and minds against Him or resist His patient outreach and love towards us. May the Lord continue to love us all regardless of our rebelliousness and persistence in sin, and help us so that we may be touched and called to repent from all those sins, to change our lives so that from now on we may no longer dwell in sin, but come towards Him ever more faithfully at all times, seeking His mercy and compassion, now and always. Amen.

by

Sunday, 20 October 2024 : Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all reminded clearly by the Lord that as Christians each and every one of us must not allow ourselves to be tempted and swayed by the various worldly desires, ambitions and temptations which can lead one astray in the journey towards the Lord. All of us must instead continue to focus ourselves upon the Lord, our God and Saviour, and upon all the love, attention, care and compassion which He has always lavished on us. We must always hold strongly to this assurance of the Lord’s promises and all that He had reminded us through His Son, in how He has made His love and compassion tangible for us, making Himself approachable and accessible to us, so that we may come to seek His ever patient love and mercy, and be truly reconciled with Him.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the passage taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the prophet spoke about the prophecy of the Suffering Servant or Suffering Messiah, which was a premonition of what the Messiah or Saviour sent by God to His people would have to endure. This revelation of what the Lord would be doing through His Messiah or Saviour is a reminder for us that each one of us as Christians are not immune to sufferings, hardships and difficulties. If the Lord, our God Himself has suffered great challenges, been rejected, humiliated and persecuted greatly for speaking and delivering the truth that He Himself has brought into our midst, then who among us can say that we may not face the same challenges and difficulties as well?

We are reminded that sufferings, trials, persecutions, obstacles and difficulties are all parts of our ministry and journey as Christians. We may encounter moments when we may end up being in difficult position and we may have to struggle in deciding how to progress forward in life, and whether we want to continue to follow the Lord or not, or whether we follow the path of the world and what is comfortable for us instead. And this is where we need to make a strong and firm stand of our faith, to continue to hold strongly to our faith and commitment to God, despite all the various difficulties and obstacles we may encounter in our path. The Lord has always been with us, by our side, no matter what, and He has always guided us throughout all of our journey.

Then, from the second reading passage today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard about the role of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the whole world as the High Priest of all mankind and all of creation, by all that He had done in offering Himself as the perfect and most worthy sacrifice for the atonement and forgiveness of our many sins and wickedness, all the things that had prevented us from coming closer to God and His salvation. The author of that Epistle also highlighted how this same High Priest, Who has offered Himself as the perfect and worthy sacrifice, also knew our sufferings and trials, Himself having been subjected to the same temptations and coercions we ourselves faced, but He did not give in to those temptations.

And in solidarity with us, by sharing in our humanity and our nature, He has united each one of us to Himself, and helping us all to realise what God has wanted from us, that is for us to embrace the salvation and love that He has shown to us so generously through His Son, that by following the example and having faith in the same Son of God, our one and true High Priest, Jesus Christ, all of us may receive and attain the fullness of God’s promise and assurance of eternal life, of true joy and happiness which He has always intended for us from the very beginning. We might have been separated from Him because of our disobedience and sins, but God’s love is far greater than any of those obstacles, temptations, pressures and all the other distractions and things that we may encounter in our path towards our salvation in God.

From the Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the time when the Lord was confronted with two of His disciples, the sons of Zebedee, namely St. James and St. John, who came with their mother to Him, asking for special favours and position from Him, to sit on His right and left. If we do not understand the significance of this request, we should know that it is a great honour to sit by the side of the King, and those two disciples sought to be honoured above the rest through such a request. Indeed, the Lord did show His favour to the two of them as He usually often brought the two sons of Zebedee, St. James and St. John together with St. Peter on the several important occasions throughout His ministry, but this did not mean that they should seek personal glory and ambition in their ministry as the disciples and followers of Christ.

The Lord told the two disciples that there are sufferings, challenges and sufferings that they would have to endure, and they would have to drink from the same cup of suffering which He Himself had to drink. What He wanted to tell them is that, following Him as a disciple is not about seeking the glory and satisfaction of the world but about service, to serve God wholeheartedly and to follow Him ever more faithfully and courageously despite the many challenges and trials we may encounter in life. All of us must not think that we will be rewarded with status, power and glory as many of us might have thought that we deserve for having followed the Lord and obeyed Him. Many of the disciples had the ambition and desires in their heart for all those things, and that was why they were unhappy at the actions of the two sons of Zebedee, and why they often bickered and quarrelled with one another over this matter.

As we have heard from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures and discerned from the earlier discussions and discourses we had, all of us are reminded that as Christians we must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by the temptations and pressures of the world around us, and by the allure of desire and worldly glory. We are all called to be more humble and focused on the Lord, to distance ourselves from the trap of ambition, hubris and pride, all the things which can lead us astray and distracted in life, to walk down the path of disobedience and rebellion against God because we may be swayed by those temptations and desires, and all the falsehoods of the evil one, who would likely tempt us to think that we cannot be wrong in our ways and ideals, and end up getting further and more distant from the true path towards God. We should instead follow the examples of the Lord Himself, Who has humbled Himself, to be offered as a worthy sacrifice and offering for our salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remind one another that as Christians, as the disciples and followers of our Lord and God, we must always strive to be humble in all things, and to be ready and willing to listen to the Lord speaking to us, reminding and helping us to remain truly faithful to Him, and to restrain ourselves from all the pride, ego, ambition, hubris, greed, desires and all the things which may bring us away from the Lord and His grace. May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to help us to stay true to our faith and commitment in Him, and may He encourage and strengthen us to remain firm in our faith and devotion despite all the challenges that we may have to face in our journey and life, now and always. Amen.

by

Sunday, 13 October 2024 : Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded constantly as we have always been on the virtue of entrusting ourselves to the Wisdom of God and to follow Him in all things and in all circumstances in our lives so that we may not end up falling away from the path towards righteousness and justification in Him. All of us should continue to entrust ourselves to the Lord and walk ever more faithfully in His Presence and being guided with Him, and we should not easily be tempted by all sorts of worldly temptations and evils all around us, so that by our dedication and commitment to God, the Lord will make us worthy and truly blessed and strengthened by His love and wisdom, blessed by the grace of His compassionate care and attention to us.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Wisdom, also known as the Wisdom of Solomon, which is a compilation on the many works regarding the central theme of Wisdom, especially referring to the Wisdom of God, the Divine Wisdom which has come to dwell in our midst and which had come upon us to bestow upon us the virtues and the guidance for all of us to follow in our journey throughout our lives. The author of the Book of Wisdom spoke of the Wisdom of God and how this Wisdom is far greater than anything of value in this world, and how incomparable God’s Wisdom and ways are compared to whatever good and wonderful things this world can offer us, and how we ought to seek this Wisdom above all else so that we may be able to find our way in this journey we all have towards the Lord, our God and Saviour.

Then in our second reading, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews we heard of the reminder from the author of this Epistle to all of us about the power of the Word of God, that had come from God Himself and coming upon all the whole people of God, penetrating through all things and having power and dominion over all. It is a reminder to us of the great power and infinite nature of the Wisdom of God that transcended over all other things, and how mighty the Lord is compared to our own human limitations and shortcomings. We are reminded that we must always have faith and trust in the Lord, and we must continue to obey His Law and commandments, doing whatever we can to listen to His words and walk in His path rather than following the whim of our own desires.

Our Gospel passage this Sunday then reminds us all about the matter of how we ought to follow the Lord and commit ourselves to His cause, to resist the temptations of worldly pleasures and glory, and all the things which often separated us from the love and grace of God. All of us have often faced the difficult choice between truly embracing God and His ways genuinely against following the trends and whim of this world, and we are reminded that as Christians, we have to do our part in living lives that are truly holy and worthy of God, distancing ourselves from all the temptations and attachments found all around us in this world which can easily distract and lead us away from the path towards God and His salvation. We should not allow all of those things to be stumbling blocks keeping us away from God.

In that same passage we heard how a rich man came to the Lord asking how he could gain access into the kingdom of God after he had obeyed all the Law, the commandments, precepts and rules of that Law according to how the people of God lived them at the time, which was responded by the Lord with the call for him to sell everything that he had and then follow the Lord wholeheartedly, which was then met with a sad disappointment and a kind of tacit disagreement from the rich man, who then left the Lord in sorrow, as he was a man of truly great wealth, and it was likely that he could not bear to be parted from all of his great amount of wealth and possessions, and he could not commit himself in the manner that the Lord had told him to do.

When we read this Gospel passage and account of this event, we must understand that the Lord was not against the rich and all those who have great wealth, as wealth and possessions themselves are not inherently evil and wicked. Those things can indeed be used for great and noble uses and causes, and many people who were rich had been great philantrophists, generous donors and patrons of many organisations and causes that had helped many people who were poor, less privileged and suffering in all parts of the world throughout all history. What the Lord was in fact reminding and warning us against is our own desires and attachments for those worldly wealth, matter and possessions, which can blind us to the true path that He has shown us.

Many of our predecessors had been undone by their inability to resist the temptations of those worldly attachments and desires, which had led them into the slippery slope and downfall into sin and darkness. Their great wealth and possessions, and their insatiable desire and attachments to those things were exactly the obstacles and barriers preventing them from coming closer towards the Lord and His salvation. They put their faith and trust more in what they possess, in all the worldly wealth and glory that they had, rather than trusting in the Wisdom of God, and in this, echoing what we had earlier in the other parts of the Scriptures today, we are hence reminded to stay away from those temptations and resist those desires so that we will not end up falling ever deeper into the wrong path in life.

May the Lord, our ever loving and merciful God continue to help and guide us all through His infinite Wisdom, giving us the strength and courage to live our lives henceforth with great commitment and fidelity, focusing ever always on His truth and Good News, His teachings, love and Wisdom, and distancing ourselves from all the temptations and worldly pleasures, all the desires and ambitions that can easily lead us into our downfall. May God be with us all, in all of our journey through this life, that through His Wisdom, we may draw ever closer to Him and His grace. Amen.

by

Sunday, 6 October 2024 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of everything that God had done for us, in His creation of us mankind, whom He has created lovingly in His own image, meant to share the fullness of His glory and majesty, His joy and happiness through all that He had made in this world. He has always desired that we live together in harmony and happiness, joy and satisfaction, to enjoy forever the fullness of His love and grace, and to be truly blessed and wonderful in all things. However, our disobedience against Him and our surrender to the many temptations and allures of worldly pleasures all around us had led us down into this path of darkness and downfall, which led us to wander in this world and suffer the consequences of our disobedience and lack of faith.

In our first reading this Sunday from the Book of Genesis, we heard of the account of the moment after the time when God created the first Man, Adam, in His own image, and saw that it is not good for man to be alone, just as the Lord Himself was not alone, but existing as always in the perfect unity of Three Divine Persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the belief that we have in the Holy Trinity, of the Oneness of God Who exists in the Three Divine Persons, sharing perfectly the indivisible unity of love because God is indeed Love, with the love that is shared by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit overflows to all of us mankind and to all of His Creation. He has no need for any one of us or for Creation, and yet, He created us all because He desired to share this love with us all.

That was why He created us in the first place, and in order to share in this unity, He also therefore created us man and woman, so that we may have one another and may share in the union between us, a union of love through which we may procreate and form new life, through the sacred union between man and woman that God had decreed, and He had also made woman from the parts of man, in order to show that through the union of man and woman, therefore we are made whole by this sacred union, which we describe as marriage, or holy matrimony. This sacred union is one that is blessed by God and mandated by Him for all of us to procreate and to inherit the whole world, all that God had created for each and every one of us. And ideally, through this loving union with one another, and with God Himself, all of us should have existed in harmony and peace. But, because we disobeyed God, we fell into sin and were removed from the state of grace, hence, suffering in this world.

In our second reading this Sunday, we then heard from the Epistle to the Hebrews in which author of this Epistle shared with all of us that despite this fate we are facing, our sufferings due to our rebellions and sins, God still loved us all nonetheless, and from the very beginning, He had wanted to redeem us all and bring us to His loving Presence once again, and He did all these by sending unto us His messengers and prophets, proclaiming His salvation which He would indeed fulfil through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Through Christ, all of us have seen the Lord’s love manifested in the flesh, as He assumed our own human existence, our flesh and human nature, becoming tangible, real and approachable for us to come towards and touch, and through His loving Presence, all of us are reminded of how beloved we all have been by God, at all times.

As the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews shared with us that the Lord Jesus came to us to share with us His love, the love of God that is ever generous and compassionate, reaching out to us all, even to the most marginalised and to everyone who had been separated from Him and kept apart from His love by our sins. By His most loving and selfless sacrifice on the Cross, Our Lord Himself has opened for us the gates of Heaven and showed us the path to eternal life, true happiness and fullness of glory with Him, to regain for ourselves what we have always been intended to experience, that is not the sufferings due to our sins, but the pure bliss and happiness, the sharing in the fullness of God’s love and grace as He has always intended for us before we fell into sin and darkness.

Then, in the Gospel this Sunday from the Gospel according to St. Mark, we heard about the Lord Jesus and how He was confronted by some of the Pharisees who came to question Him regarding matters of the Law, and this time it was about the matter of whether one is allowed to divorce his spouse or not. As mentioned by the Lord Himself, the Law of Moses as interpreted and practiced at that time, ever since the days of Moses allowed a person to divorce his wife or for the wife to divorce the husband providing that the necessary paperworks and formalities were settled. He pointed out to those Pharisees, whose very strict and legalistic interpretation of the Law often got in their way of understanding and appreciating God’s true intentions and ways, that Moses allowed such an arrangement because of just how stubborn the people of Israel were at his time. It was meant to be a compromise but it was not what God truly intended and wanted from us to do.

Instead, as we have heard from the very beginning, from the Book of Genesis on the account of the creation of Man, God had always intended us to share in this sacred union, and this union is something that God Himself had blessed and made into a holy union, and the Lord said that, whatever God had made sacred and blessed, and united as one, no man should ever divide and dissolve. Essentially the Lord is reminding each and every one of us that the sacred bond of marriage, which we also call as the Sacrament of the Holy Matrimony, as one of the Seven Sacraments of the Church is truly a very important and crucial one for all of us, and for those among us all called to this sacred union, we must prepare ourselves thoroughly and appropriately so that we may truly understand its significance and importance, and that we may commit ourselves to this holy union, and not desecrate it by breaking it up.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in this Sunday’s Scripture passages, let us all therefore remind ourselves first of all of God’s most generous love and kindness, His compassionate love and mercy, and all that He has reassured and promised us all. And as part of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, as His beloved and holy people, let us always uphold the sacred institution of marriage, the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, the foundation of our holy and devout families, which themselves are the foundations and pillars of support for the Church of God. As long as our families are united in God and blessed by Him, and as long as each one of us as members of God’s holy and devout families continue to worship the Lord together and put Him as the centre and focus of our families, the Church will always be strong against all the attacks from the evil ones.

May the Lord, our ever loving God, Father and Creator continue to be with us all and bless each and every one of us in our journey of faith. May He continue to strengthen us all in faith, and allow us all to follow Him ever more faithfully and worthily in each and every moments of our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Sunday, 29 September 2024 : Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of the Holy Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all gather together as one holy people of God, let us all reflect upon the words of the Sacred Scriptures that we have just heard and received. We are all reminded through them of the need for all of us as Christians to be truly holy, good and virtuous in all things. We cannot be truly called as Christians unless we devote ourselves wholeheartedly and completely to the Lord, following His teachings and ways in all things, in all the opportunities in our lives and in everything that we say and do. All of us must distance ourselves from all sorts of wickedness and evils in our daily living, doing whatever we can to glorify the Lord by our lives and making good use of whatever gifts, talents, blessings and opportunities that He had provided generously and uniquely to each and every one of us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Numbers in which the Lord came down upon the Israelites and gave some of the Spirit that had been resting upon His servant Moses to the seventy elders of the Israelites, and they all began to prophesy and to do wonderful things, just as the disciples of the Lord would do much later through the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Then in that same occasion, the Spirit of God also came upon two of the men in the camp of the Israelites, namely Eldad and Medad, who also prophesy and do things which the seventy elders had done. This elicited comment from Joshua who was the one to succeed Moses in the future, that they should stop the two of them from doing what they had done.

But Moses rebuked Joshua saying that if he was jealous on his behalf, essentially saying that he should not interfere with God’s work and His will. If God so desired that more people would have His gifts, blessings and Spirit, then who were they to stop that from happening? Indeed, God considered all of His people as equal, and that includes all of us as well, as His salvation and love, His compassion and kindness are offered to everyone, to every children of mankind without exception, and as long as each and every one of us are willing to follow Him wholeheartedly, regardless of our backgrounds and affiliations, our differences and whatever it is that we often used to distinguish ourselves from each other. God’s grace and love, His salvation and gifts are not restricted to just a select few, but to everyone.

In our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. James, we heard of St. James speaking to the faithful people of God regarding the matter of doing what is right and just in God’s Presence, and the warning of what those who have been blinded by their riches, power, privileges and all other sorts of things that had kept them from truly being able to follow the Lord faithfully and worthily, instead being swayed and tempted by those various worldly temptations and falling ever deeper into the temptations to sin and disobey God. St. James elaborated on all the vices and wickedness which those people had done, and how they would have to account for all those wickedness, evils and sins. And all these once again served as important reminders for each one of us not to allow ourselves to be swayed by all those temptations and evils in life.

Then, in our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard of the account from the Gospel according to St. Mark in which the Lord told His disciples in a matter related to what we heard in our first reading today, as they wanted to stop a man who had been proclaiming the Lord’s Name and using His Name to perform miracles and signs even though he did not belong to their group. The Lord rebuked them gently saying that whoever that were not against them, were with them. He also then went on elaborating with a rather vivid imagery and instruction on how to follow Him wholeheartedly and faithfully, saying that if they had allowed any of their body parts to cause them to fall into sin, that they ought to cut them out and keep these from leading them down the path of damnation and ruin.

Did the Lord actually ask us to cut off our hands, feet and eyes? No, that was not His intention. Rather, what He wanted to convey and point out to all of His disciples, including all of us listening to these words from the Gospel today, is that sin is truly something serious and harmful to us, and we should not take sin lightly as sin can lead us all to total separation from God and eternal damnation. In addition, our bodies are themselves not at fault, for the same limbs and parts can be used to perform both good and wicked deeds. What lead them to be used for good or wicked deeds and actions is what is within our hearts and minds. If we do not truly have strong and genuine faith in the Lord, how can we then act in the manner that is pleasing to God and worthy of Him?

All of us are therefore called as Christians to be good and faithful disciples, to be good examples for everyone around us. Each and every one of us are God’s children and His beloved ones, but there are many out there who have not yet known the Lord. It is up to us all therefore to proclaim the Lord our God, His salvation and Good News, His love, kindness and mercy to more and more people out there. How can we convince others to believe in the Lord just like us, if our own actions, attitudes, words and behaviours do not really conform to our faith and belief in God? We must lead by example, brothers and sisters in Christ, to be truly faithful and committed in all the things that we say and do, so that in all these, we may continue to be shining beacons of God’s light and truth, and be truly worthy to be called God’s holy people.

Today, the Church also celebratest the Feast of the Holy Archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, the three great Archangels named in the Sacred Scriptures. These three Holy Archangels had been sent by God at different moments and times to help us all mankind in our journey towards the Lord and His salvation. St. Michael the Archangel as the Prince and Chief of the Heavenly Hosts led the forces of the Angels of God and all those who fight by our side defending us from the destructive forces of the evil spirits and demons arrayed against us. St. Gabriel the Archangel proclaimed the Good News to us through Mary, proclaiming the coming of the Saviour of the whole world, while St. Raphael the Archangel helped both the faithful servants of God, Tobit and Sara, in their predicament, showing God’s love, mercy and healing.

Each one of them have shown us the guidance and presence of God in our every moments in life, and that God is always by our side, throughout all the things we encounter in life, we may be strengthened knowing that God is journeying with us, with His Archangels and the vast throngs of Heavenly Hosts always surrounding us, keeping us away from the forces of evil and wickedness of Satan. The Holy Archangels showed us all the ever enduring God’s love for us, and consequently, we too should commit ourselves wholeheartedly and to the best of our abilities to the Lord in all things and at all times.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and encourage us all to live ever more faithfully in His Holy Presence from now on. May His Holy Archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael continue to protect and intercede for us, defending us all from the wicked forces of the evil ones always ever ready to strike at us. May the Lord continue to guide us in His path and help inspire us so that our whole lives may continue to be life-giving and ever exemplary and inspirational as good and devout Christians, in each and every moments of our lives, helping many others to come towards God and His salvation, now and always. Amen.

by

Sunday, 22 September 2024 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded very strongly through the words of the Sacred Scriptures that each and every one of us as God’s followers, as His holy and beloved people must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed and turned into the wrong paths by the many temptations all around us which try to pander to our pride, ego and greed within us, and try to tempt and persuade us to move away from the Lord and His righteousness in making us to indulge in our desires for worldly pleasures, fame, glory, comfort and many other things in this world that had led so many of our predecessors into their doom and downfall. Each and every one of them have failed to resist those temptations and allowed those things to pull them away from the path of virtue and righteousness into evil and disobedience against God.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Wisdom in which the words of the author speaking of the plots and vicious plans certain group of people attempted against the righteous and faithful people of God, and particularly, it also mentioned the Righteous One, the Son of God as the target of these vicious efforts and plans. This Book of Wisdom was written and compiled centuries before the coming of Christ, the Son of God likely referred to by this same author, and therefore, it is indeed a premonition of what was to come, proclaiming the coming of the Salvation in the Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself, Who would indeed face challenges and sufferings amidst His mission in this world, facing rejection and stubbornness from the people to whom He had been sent to, persecution and eventually death on the Cross.

In our second reading this Sunday from the Epistle of St. James, we then heard the reason for this rejection and opposition against the Lord, which is also a good reminder for us all so that we do not end up in the same fate as well. St. James mentioned about how we tend to fight and quarrel with each other over worldly desires and pursuits, all because of our clashing desires and ideals, and also our pride, ego and ambitions, our greed and jealousy, all the things which can easily lead us down the slippery slope of disobedience against God and sin. This is why it is important for us all to keep ourselves on guard against all those negative emotions and distractions, all of which had led many among our predecessors to be disobedient and sinful against God.

For example, many among the Pharisees who have frequently opposed the Lord and persistently attacked and criticised Him did so most likely because they were jealous of His many achievements and wonderful works of performing miracles, that many among the people who used to follow them and respect them as the religious and intellectual elites of the community, no longer did so and went to seek the Lord Jesus instead. Their pride and ego, their sense of superiority and self-righteousness also added on to this, as they refused to accept the fact that One could have come and revealed to them the truth and the teachings that they themselves did not about. They hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord despite having heard and seen for themselves on many occasions the truth that God has brought upon them.

Then in our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard of the account from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist in which He first foretold to His disciples everything that He would have to suffer in the midst of His mission and works, and in how He would be betrayed and abandoned to His enemies, persecuted and oppressed to the point of death, which was indeed in alignment with what the author of the Book of Wisdom had been telling us earlier from the first reading today. This persecutions and oppressions that the Lord would endure however did not dampen His desire to reach out to us and to rescue us from our predicaments and troubles, and He doubled up the efforts He made to seek us and to help us all to be reconciled with His heavenly Father, our Lord and God.

He then also mentioned how it was foolish for them to constantly bicker, argue and quarrel among themselves regarding who among them were better and more worthy, more righteous or more virtuous in their deeds and works, as they often did at that time. Many among them must be bickering and quarrelling, hoping that they would be more favoured and honoured by the Lord and became His right hand disciple and trusted one, looking with jealousy and dislike those that had been gaining favour with the Lord. That was the same attitude which the Pharisees had shown, and which the disciples initially also had, because they were all thinking in terms of worldly matters and desires, all of which would have led them down the path of pride and downfall, as their predecessors had experienced.

This is why the Lord pointed out the folly in all those arguments and bickering, all the struggles they had with one another regarding who among them were better and more worthy. All the things that they were seeking for or craved were ultimately illusory and impermanent, and would not have led them to true satisfaction and joy, and He pointed to them that they should instead be like little children in how they believe in Him, and in their way of living. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because young children besides being innocent, they also believe in something truly and with pure intention instead of being burdened and affected by various desires and concerns of the world, all of which distracted those disciples and others like us from our true focus and purpose in life that is to glorify the Lord our God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all have been reminded by the Lord through the words of the Scriptures, let us all therefore do our best to realign our lives back to the Lord and to devote ourselves more and more, our efforts, time and attention to follow the Lord our God ever more wholeheartedly from now on. Let us all continue to walk ever more worthily in God’s Presence, by returning ourselves to focus once more to Him and to reorientate our whole lives to His cause, doing whatever we can to obey Him and His commandments, and to seek true satisfaction and pleasure from serving and glorifying Him rather than to satisfy our selfish desires and ambitions, which would disappoint us in the end. May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us all in faith, and help us so that we can continue to embrace Him and come ever closer to Him and His salvation, now and always. Amen.