Sunday of the Word of God

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Sunday, 21 January 2024 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us have been presented with the reminders from the Lord that each and every one of us as Christians are called to live our lives with faith and Christian virtues, that in each and every moments of our lives, we will always be ready and vigilant, strong and resilient against the tide and endless assault of the evil ones, the many temptations and challenges we may encounter throughout our lives. We must always be careful lest the snares of evil and the temptations of the flesh, of worldly glory and ambitions lead us astray into the path towards our downfall and destruction. We have to resist them all and remain strong in the faith, heeding God’s call for us to follow Him, striving to live our lives to the fullest with faith and dedication to Him at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jonah, in which the prophet Jonah proclaimed to the people of the great city of Nineveh in Assyria that their city would be destroyed in forty days’ time. At that time, Nineveh was the capital of the great Assyrian Empire, a proud and powerful empire that had conquered many of their neighbouring peoples and states, including that of the northern kingdom of Israel, exiling many of the people of Israel in that kingdom to distant lands including Assyria itself. As a proud and powerful kingdom at that time, Assyria did not have any rival or equal in their power and might, and they often carried out their actions with great impunity, not fearing any retribution or consequences. They pillaged and destroyed cities and towns, causing deaths and sufferings to countless peoples.

It was there and then that the Lord decided to proclaim His judgments against Nineveh and the Assyrians, for all the sins which they had committed, much as how He had done similarly to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in a separate and much earlier instance as recorded in the Book of Genesis. The inhabitants of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had also committed grievous sins and terrible actions against the Lord and His ways, and hence, He also moved against them, to bring them their just fate of destruction unless they were to repent from their sins. In that case, Abraham was beseeching God on behalf of his cousin Lot and his family living in the area of Sodom and Gomorrah, that God might show His mercy and spared them all should some righteous people be found there.

Yet, there were none to be found, and the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with great fire and brimstone, and levelled everything to the ground, while rescuing Lot and his family through His Angels. Yet, for the case of Nineveh, as we all heard, God spared the city from destruction and did not carry out what He had intended to do with them. Why the difference, brothers and sisters in Christ? The same passage from the Sacred Scriptures remind us all that what the people of Nineveh did, was the reason behind it all, that they genuinely and truly repented before God and everyone else, as they all as one people all showed great remorse and regret for their many sins and wickedness, and sought the mercy and compassion of God, which He gladly gave to all of them.

Thus, the same thing applies to each and every one of us as well, brothers and sisters in Christ. To all of us who have sinned and disobeyed the Lord and His commandments, we have been given the chance by God to turn away from our sins and to repent from them. God truly did not desire our destruction, but rather our sanctification and liberation from sin. Yet, many of us are still trapped by all those sins and the wickedness, the temptations and all the obstacles surrounding us. This is why we need to take the initiative and remind ourselves and each other that we should keep ourselves free from those temptations, coercions and pressures to disobey the Lord and to walk down the path of worldliness and sin. We have to remain vigilant and strong in persevering to walk down the path of righteousness and faith in God instead.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the account of the Lord calling His disciples and telling them that the time is at hand, and how the Kingdom of God is about to come. This is yet an echo of the same reminders we have just discussed, reminding us all that while God is truly generous and kind, compassionate and filled with the desire to forgive us all and to welcome us back to His loving embrace, but unless we change our way of life and turn away from sin and evil, then we shall be judged and we have to face the consequences for everything that we have committed, out of sin and disobedience against the Lord. And then, we also need to answer God’s call and follow Him, just as the disciples had done. We all need to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and do what He has taught and shown us to do.

This Sunday we also mark the occasion of the Sunday of the Word of God, which was instituted by our current Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis, because of the need for all of us as Christians to deepen our knowledge and understanding, appreciation and immersion in the Word of God found in the Scriptures. It was often said that Catholics do not have a good grasp, knowledge or understanding of the Scriptures, and hence, it is easy for us to be led astray by those who claimed to know the meaning of the Scriptures, and those who twisted and changed the meaning of the Word of God to satisfy their own aim and ambitions, their wicked and unholy purposes, drawing us away from the righteous and holy path of God. This is why we all need to deepen our knowledge and understanding of God’s Words in the Scriptures.

How do we then know the Lord better through His Word? There are many things that we can do, but first of all, we must have with us, the Sacred Scriptures, all the Word of God and His revelations as compiled and written by those whom He had inspired, and which the Church and the Church fathers had authoritatively determined to be genuine and true, beneficial and truly the Word of God, as contained in the Holy Bible. Then, we should spend quality time to examine and explore the Word of God with proper guidance through the Church, and find good references that are now easily and readily available, from reliable and good sources that can help us understand and appreciate the meaning of the Scriptures and the Word of God much better. Nonetheless, unless we spend good amount of quality time to focus on the Lord and His Word, then it is unlikely that His Word will have good and firm roots in us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us always place the Lord and His Word ever at the first and foremost place in our lives, and amongst our families and circles of friends. Let us all be ever committed to live our lives worthily at all times, in all circumstances and anywhere, so that by our words, actions and deeds, everyone who witness our lives may know that God is present in our midst, and His Word may be known to more and more people, so that more may come to God’s grace and salvation. May the Lord be with us always and may He empower all of us so that by our lives we may be great role models and inspirations for one another. May God bless us in all our lives and in everything we do. Amen.

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Sunday, 21 January 2024 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 14-20

At that time, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee and began preaching the Good News of God. He said, “The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News.”

As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fish for people.”

At once, they abandoned their nets and followed Him. Jesus went a little farther on, and saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee; they were in their boat mending their nets. Immediately, Jesus called them and they followed Him, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men.

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Sunday, 21 January 2024 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 7 : 29-31

I say this, brothers and sisters : time is running out, and those who are married must live as if not married; those who weep as if not weeping; those who are happy as if they were not happy; those buying something as if they had not bought it, and those enjoying the present life as if they were not enjoying it. For the order of this world is vanishing.

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Sunday, 21 January 2024 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

Teach me Your ways, o YHVH; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Remember Your compassion, o YHVH, Your unfailing love from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, but in Your love remember me.

Good and upright, YHVH teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

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Sunday, 21 January 2024 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Jonah 3 : 1-5, 10

The word of YHVH came to Jonah a second time : “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and announce to them the message I give you.”

In obedience to the word of YHVH, Jonah went to Nineveh. It was a very large city, and it took three days just to cross it. So Jonah walked a single day’s journey and began proclaiming, “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.”

The people of the city believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not carry out the destruction He had threatened upon them.

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Sunday, 22 January 2023 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time we mark the occasion of the Sunday of the Word of God which was instituted a few years ago by Pope Francis, our Supreme Pontiff with the purpose of rediscovering our love and zeal for the Lord through the deepening of our knowledge and understanding of the Sacred Scriptures. It is important that we have to spend some time and effort to get to know more about the Word of God contained within the Scriptures and hence, that is why this Sunday in particular, let us all delve into what we have just heard from the Scripture passages and focus our attention on the truth that the Lord Himself has brought into our midst.

In our first reading today, all of us heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah of the prophecy speaking of the coming of the Messiah, of the coming of the Light of salvation that dispels the darkness surrounding the region of Naphtali and Zebulun, which by the time of the Lord Jesus was known as the region of Galilee. It was in Galilee that the Lord’s family originated from, as St. Joseph and Mary stayed in the small town of Nazareth in Galilee, although St. Joseph at least initially hailed from the tribe of Judah in Bethlehem. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the members of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council later on said that no prophet were to be expected to come from the region and hence, Jesus must have been a false prophet and Messiah.

Yet, if only they had read the prophet Isaiah and his prophecies more carefully, just as we have heard ourselves in our first reading today, then they would have realised that the Saviour of the world would indeed come through the region of the north, the lands of Naphtali and Zebulun, the land of Galilee, where the Lord indeed stayed during the early years of His life, and also where He began His ministry after His Baptism at the Jordan. Contextually it is also significant to take note that back then, at the time of the prophet Isaiah, the land of Naphtali and Zebulun, as part of the northern kingdom of Israel, had become a foreign land, after the destruction of that kingdom by the Assyrians, as its people had been brought off into exile in far away lands, and foreigners were brought in to dwell in those lands.

By the time of the Lord Jesus, a few centuries after the time of the prophet Isaiah, the lands mentioned was known as Galilee, and that region was also still in the peripheries of the communities of the people of God, which was mainly centred in Jerusalem and Judea back then. That the Lord decided to come to those regions was also highly symbolic and meaningful, as it represents the Lord’s desire to gather back all of His scattered people, and to restore the honour of the people of God, and at the same time also calling upon the people from distant lands and from the pagan nations to embrace the truth and love of God. It means that God’s salvation was not only meant for the Jewish people only, but to all the children of mankind, to all the peoples of all races and origins, just as God has always intended.

And as we heard the Gospel passage today, again that same prophecy from the prophet Isaiah was repeated, proclaiming the coming of God’s salvation as made true and real by the actions that the Lord carried out in Galilee, as He called His first disciples and gathered them all, choosing the Twelve among them to be His Apostles, while also performing many miracles and wonders, healing many of the sick who came to Him and were brought to Him. He went from places to places, healing the sick, casting out demons, making those who were blind to be able to see again, and opening the ears and loosening the tongues of the mute, fulfilling the many other prophecies that Isaiah and the other prophets had been proclaiming about the Messiah.

And all of these had been proclaimed to us as well, the truth that God has shown us and delivered to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Through His Church, the Lord has revealed and taught to us His ways, and showed us the proof of His salvation. Like the Apostles we have received the same truth and Good News, and it was through them and their successors that we have received this truth, passed down successively down the generations through the Church of God. Without the hard work and efforts of the Apostles, the other disciples and their successors throughout the history of the Church, there would have not been any of these things happening. We would have remained ignorant of the truth of God, and separated from His salvation and grace.

This reminds us today as we commemorate this Sunday of the Word of God that each and every one of us have been called by God to our various ministries and callings in life, depending on the various gifts, talents and abilities that He had given us. All of us have been called to embrace the Lord’s calling of not only just knowing and appreciating the Word of God more in our lives, but also in proclaiming the Word of God and the truth of God in the midst of our respective various communities, in our schools and workplaces, amidst our families, relatives and circles of friends and acquaintances, and even to strangers whom we encounter daily in our respective lives. And we cannot be effective and faithful servants of the Lord and His Word, unless we have good knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, hence, it is important that we commit some time to spend each day and each and every available moments to us, to read the Sacred Scriptures and deepen our knowledge and understanding of it. However, it is important that we also have to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the teachings of the Church as well because if we read the Scriptures and interpret it based on our own understanding and comprehension, then as history had shown us, it can lead us into the path of error, as the many heresies and the false paths had done, and also those who believe that the Scriptures alone hold the sole authority of God’s truth, or ‘sola Scriptura’. Instead, the teachings of the Church, its Magisterium is important in ensuring that our understanding and appreciation of the Sacred Scriptures remain rooted in Christ and His truth.

That is why, first of all we need to spend more time in reading the Scriptures, as if we do not even know the words contained within it, how can we even begin to discern if something we heard from elsewhere or others are true or false? Especially during this time of rapid information exchange and greater availability of informations from all sources, it is very easy for us to be swayed into falsehoods, just as misinformations and fake news had been making rounds all around the world in the past few years and decade. That is why, after we have spent the time to read more of the Scriptures, we also have to deepen our understanding of the Scriptures through knowing more of the teachings of the Church as contained within the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as through careful listening and reflection of the words of the bishops and priests who are our teachers and guides, in guiding us together within the Church into the right path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why it is also important that we also help one another to stay in the path of truth, by sharing with one another whatever insight and understanding we have of the Scriptures, rooted in the traditions and teachings of the Church and the Apostles. Let us all be zealous and committed evangelisers and missionaries, in our daily living, in our every moments. Let us do our very best to be exemplary in faith and to be inspiration to each other in our faith and in our lives. May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us as well, so that hopefully we may lead more others to the path of God’s salvation and grace. May God bless us in our every good efforts, works and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 January 2023 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 4 : 12-23

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town by the lake of Galilee, at the border of Zebulun and Naphtali.

In this way the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled : Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, crossed by the Road of the Sea, and you who live beyond the Jordan, Galilee, land of pagans : The people who lived in darkness have seen a great Light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a Light has shone.

From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim His message, “Change your ways : the kingdom of heaven is near.” As Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fish for people.”

At once they left their nets and followed Him. He went on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them. At once they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Jesus went around all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, and curing all kinds of sickness and disease among the people.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Matthew 4 : 12-17

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town by the lake of Galilee, at the border of Zebulun and Naphtali.

In this way the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled : Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, crossed by the Road of the Sea, and you who live beyond the Jordan, Galilee, land of pagans : The people who lived in darkness have seen a great Light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a Light has shone.

From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim His message, “Change your ways : the kingdom of heaven is near.”

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Sunday, 22 January 2023 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 1 : 10-13, 17

I beg of you, brothers, in the Name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, to agree among yourselves and do away with divisions; please be perfectly united, with one mind and one judgment.

For I heard from people of Cloe’s house about your rivalries. What I mean is this : “I am for Paul,” and others, “I am for Apollo,” or “I am for Peter,” or “I am for Christ.” Is Christ divided or have I, Paul, been crucified for you? Have you been baptised in the name of Paul?

For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to proclaim His Gospel. And not with beautiful words! That would be like getting rid of the cross of Christ.

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Sunday, 22 January 2023 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 13-14

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!

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Sunday, 22 January 2023 : Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday of the Word of God, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 8 : 23b – Isaiah 9 : 3

YHVH has just afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the future He will confer glory on the way of the sea, on the land beyond the Jordan – the pagan’s Galilee.

The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who live in the land of the shadow of death. You have enlarged the nation; You have increased their joy. They rejoice before You, as people rejoice at harvest time as they rejoice in dividing the spoil.

For the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors, You have broken it as on the day of Midian.