Liturgical Colour : Green
Ezekiel 2 : 2-5
A Spirit came upon me as He spoke and kept me standing and then I heard Him speak, “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have sinned against Me to this day.”
“Now I am sending you to these defiant and stubborn people to tell them, ‘this is the Lord YHVH’s word.’ So, whether they listen or not this set of rebels will know there is a prophet among them.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings pointed out to us the nature of our Lord, who is the Lord of life and death and the Master of all things. Everything is in His power and under His authority, and to all who love Him, He would also love all back with even greater love, for even before we love Him, He had given up everything for our sake, even to strip Himself of all dignity to suffer and die on the cross for us.
All of these was because of His love for us. God did not create us all for nothing or for Him to gloat over our destruction at the hands of our sins. Death was not intended for us, as we were all intended for eternal life and glory with the Lord our God, in the happiness and pure joy in heaven, just as our first ancestors once experienced in the Gardens of Eden before the day of mankind’s fall into sin.
Death is the consequence of our disobedience, namely our sins, which have sundered us all from the love and grace of God, and because we were sundered from the Lord and Master of life, then we tasted the bitterness of suffering and death in this world. In the Book of Genesis we heard the Lord Himself spoke to Adam and Eve, that as they were born from the dust, they would return to dust again.
This is the mortal death that all of us mortals have to encounter at the end of our earthly lives, when the time came for us and our earthly existence is at its end, and many of us mankind feared death, because we see it as the end of the way, the end of our earthly existence, and separation from all the good things we have in this world. Thus from different peoples and cultures, we see how many people feared death and its unavoidable grip on us, and how we were often obsessed with trying to prolong our own lives.
And today, in the Gospel, Jesus showed all of us, what is meant by truly living, and what the faithful will receive if they keep their faith in Him. He raised from the dead the daughter of the synagogue official, because of his strong faith, placing all of his trust in Jesus, knowing that He could heal her, and brought her from the dead too if He wanted to, just as at the time when Jesus raised Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha from the dead.
What did Jesus told them on that day? He told them that, He is the Life and the Resurrection, and all who believe in Him and place their trust in Him shall not die but have eternal life. It is His right to give and take life from us mortals, and to all those whom He is pleased with, He shall give His life, eternal life filled with perfect joy and happiness, which is what was originally intended for us before we fell into sin.
They doubted at first, and the same happened with all the people who were gathered at the house of the synagogue official, all weeping and wailing loudly, because the girl had died. They thought that she had been lost forever, and they did not believe in Jesus, laughing at Him when He said to them that she was just asleep. Thus, He cast them out of the place because of their unbelief, and raised the girl back to life.
Just as the raising of Lazarus from the dead, this is a foretaste of our own resurrection. Remember what we have heard from Jesus, that the girl was just asleep and not dead? And if we notice that in the Canon of the Mass, after the Consecration and elevation of the Bread and the Wine to be the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord, we heard the priest saying, ‘Remember our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep before us…’, then we would see that death is not something to be feared, and it is not lasting, if we truly are faithful to the Lord.
Death is not an end, but in fact is just a transition, from our worldly and earthly life, in this imperfect and sinful world, tainted since the entry of sin into our hearts. It is a transition to the new life which our Lord Jesus Christ has promised all of us, that all those who believe in Him and live righteously according to the will of God, will receive this life everlasting, a life with God, filled with the fullness of God’s love and grace.
And what is the key to all this? Faith, and also hope, and also love, the three cardinal and most important virtues we ought to have. And faith is what the woman with bleeding had, trusting so much in the power and authority of Jesus, that she believed that even by just touching the edges of His cloak, she would be healed. And by her faith she was healed.
The same goes too for the synagogue official, whose faith we have discussed earlier, and many others whose faith Jesus had praised throughout the Gospels, namely the Syro-Phoenician woman, the army captain who said that ‘I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.’ And many other examples, which shows how the faith of these people in Jesus, in our Lord, had brought about salvation to them.
Jesus offered this freely for them, when He died on the cross. By dying on the cross for us, and through all of His suffering, He had borne our sins upon Himself, all the punishment and suffering due for us, which should have been our fate. Indeed, we ought to fear death initially because of our sins, so heinous and evil before God, that the punishment must have been severe and unimaginable, but Jesus took all that upon Himself, and He died for all, even for those who were hostile to Him.
But as long as we refuse to accept His salvation, then this salvation does not come to us and it remains outside of our reach. Faith is how we come to receive this salvation, by believing that Jesus is our Lord and God, and then knowing that we have hope in Him. Yes, we ought to hope in the resurrection, and we know that we will have it if we love Him, and if we have love in us.
Why do we fear death so much? That is because we are by our nature selfish, and we love only ourselves, and the things that make us happy. But this happiness is just temporary and it does not last beyond death. For all the wealth, things and other worldly goods we accumulate and gain in our lives, none of this will be brought with us when we go to the world that is to come.
Remember that Jesus said to His disciples and to the people for them to build not treasures that can be destroyed and perish? But rather to build up for themselves the eternal and true treasures of heaven? What is this treasure? The love of God, and the love which is inside us, the hope we have for His resurrection and the eternal life He had promised all who have faith in Him.
So what do we all ought to bring home today from these readings which we have heard? It is for us to have true and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, our hope and our salvation. To have faith does not mean for us just to say prayers and to say before others that we believe in Him. For we know that our faith is dead as long as we do not have action based on that faith.
If the woman with bleeding just had the faith but did not have the courage to go and approach Jesus through the crowd, her problem would remain with her and no healing would have taken place. If she did not have the courage to admit what she had done, touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak, then what she had done would not be known to us either. And what is the action we all need? Love, my brethren, it is love that we need.
Love our God with all of our heart’s strength, with all of our minds and our fullest attention, and then show the same love to our brethren, our neighbours, to all others who are around us. Our true treasures do not lie in the wealth and possessions in this world, which although they may be good to have, but they do not bring us true happiness. True happiness lies in knowing that we love one another, and God loves us all too because He sees the love that is in us, and therefore we are worthy of the eternal life He had promised all of us who have faith in Him.
Let us all therefore pray, brothers and sisters, that our faith in the Lord will be ever strengthened, that we will always put our trust in He who is the Lord of all, the Lord over life and death. Let us throw away our selfishness and our desire, for all the worldly things that keep us apart from the Lord. Let us be able to move our hands and limbs to love one another, sharing the faith which we have, and so that together, at the end, our Lord will gather us all back together once again to enjoy once again the goodness which He had intended for us from the beginning.
We do not need to fear death anymore for it is a new beginning for us, for an eternal life of joy with God. His life is in us and we rejoice because of this. May God bless us all and be with us, now and forever. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 5 : 21-43
At that time, Jesus crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”
Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side. Among the crowd was a woman, who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors, and had spent everything she had, but instead of getting better, she was worse.
Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.” Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint.
But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around You. Why do You ask who touched You?”
But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”
While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.
Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. She was twelve years old. The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.
Alternative reading (shorter version)
Mark 5 : 21-24, 35b-43
At that time, Jesus crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.” Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side.
Some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.
Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. She was twelve years old. The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.
Liturgical Colour : Green
2 Corinthians 8 : 7, 9, 13-15
You excel in everything : in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel also in this generous service.
You know well the generosity of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Although He was rich, He made Himself poor to make you rich through His poverty. I do not mean that others should be at ease and you burdened. Strive for equality; at present give from your abundance what they are short of, and in some way they also will give from their abundance what you lack.
Then you will be equal and what the Scripture says shall come true : ‘To the one who had much, nothing was in excess; to the one who had little, nothing was lacking.’
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b
I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.
Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.
Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing. O Lord, my God, forever will I give You thanks.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Wisdom 1 : 13-15 and Wisdom 2 : 23-24
God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. Since He has created everything, all creatures of the universe are for our good; there is no deadly poison in them and the netherworld has no dominion over the earth, because justice is immortal.
Indeed God created man to be immortal in the likeness of His own nature, but the envy of the devil brought death to the world, and those who take his side shall experience death.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about how Jesus with His power and authority, commanded even the wind and the waves in the storm to settle down and cease, showing His power as the Messiah and the Lord of all Creations. And He showed it to His disciples who were fearful and afraid, fearing for their lives even as the storm battered on the ship and it almost sank.
Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith, and He mentioned to them that they should not have been afraid, had they had even the smallest amount of faith and trust in God. This reading, and all the other readings and the psalm today all sounded in tandem upon a central theme, that is the Lord as our Master and our God, who loves us and protects us from harm’s way, and rescues us from trouble.
And He leads us all as the member of His Body, the Church, in a great journey through life and through this world, in order for us to traverse it safely to our destination, that is eternal life and joy which only the Lord our God could provide. And this is symbolised by that journey that Jesus and His disciples took as they traverse the lake in a storm, and Jesus calming down that storm for them.
There are indeed plenty of symbolisms in today’s readings, particularly that of the action of Jesus on that boat that day. The Church of God, the Body of Christ, is often represented as a large ship or boat, and truly, this same interpretation applies in this case too. Jesus and His disciples represents the Church, of which Jesus, who is their Master, is like the captain of the ship, while the disciples represent us all, who are the members of the Church.
For the Body of Christ, the Church of God represents not just the buildings and the assets of the Church, but the true assets of the Church lies in its members and their unity to one another. And Jesus is the Head of the Church that is His Body, in Him we are all united as one people, and He leads us in this journey filled with difficulties and challenges, the opposition and attacks by Satan against us.
For the stormy seas, the winds and the waves represent the challenges that will surely come our way if we remain true to our faith and remain in the Church of God. Satan, who has dominion over this world, is certainly not going to let us go and escape his clutches just like that. He who had made our forefathers to fall into sin and rebel against God will do the same to us as well.
And the disciples’ reactions when they saw the storm was about to sink their ship were truly reminiscent of our own reactions as well. They feared, so we also fear too, when we encounter difficulties, when we are tempted and challenged by Satan and his forces. And this happens when we do not have faith in God or little trust in Him. We are afraid and fearful because we think that in this battle and tribulation, we are alone.
And a natural reaction is for us to abandon the ship and jump into the water. Translating this to reality means that we abandon the Church, we abandon the Lord and all of His ways, succumbing to our fear. Do you know that it is much safer to remain with the ship even though it seems that the ship is about to sink? It is better than to jump out and face myriads of uncertainties and danger outside of the ship.
The Church of God is a haven of protection from the forces of evil, and if we are faithful and remain true to the Lord through His Church, and if we anchor ourselves steadily on Him, then we will not be shaken and no forces of evil can destroy us, for the Lord is with us, and as the Head of the Church, He will steer us through all the dangers and difficulties to our eternal reward.
We should not fear evil, for God Himself showed that He has authority over all things, and by subduing the storm and the waves, He showed that even Satan and all of his might had to submit to the power and authority of God, who is the Master of all. Therefore, there is really no need for us to be afraid of him and his darkness, for God who reigns over all will ensure our safety. Do not fear those who cannot harm our eternal soul.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, from today on, can we commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and trust in Him more? God is our Leader and our Shepherd, and as long as we have Him, we should not be shaken. Yes, there will be challenges and difficulties, but these are after all part and parcel of being one of the faithful ones of the Lord. For the world and Satan who ruled over it, had rejected the Lord in the first place, and therefore they will reject us and persecute us too.
May Almighty God give us strength to walk faithfully in His ways and not to be swayed by the forces of this world. May He give us courage to maintain ourselves and composure in the face of the storms of this world. May we not be discouraged or be frightened by what Satan has employed in order to deter us and make us panic, but let us all remain firmly in our true devotion and faith to the Lord our God. May God be with us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 4 : 35-41
At that time, on the same day, when evening had come, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” So they left the crowd, and took Him away in the boat He had been sitting in, and other boats set out with Him.
Then a storm gathered and it began to blow a gale. The waves spilled over into the boat, so that it was soon filled with water. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.
They woke Him up, and said, “Master, do You not care if we drown?” And rising up, Jesus rebuked the wind, and ordered the sea, “Quiet now! Be still!” The wind dropped, and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?”
But they were terrified, and they said to one another, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Liturgical Colour : Green
2 Corinthians 5 : 14-17
Indeed the love of Christ holds us and we realise that if He died for all, all have died. He died for all so that those who live may live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again for them.
And so from now on, we do not regard anyone from a human point of view; and even if we once knew Christ personally, we should now regard Him in another way. For that same reason, the one who is in Christ is a new creature. For him the old things have passed away; a new world has come.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 106 : 23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
Those who went to the sea in ships, merchants on the mighty waters, saw the marvels of the Lord, His wonderful deeds in the deep.
For He spoke and stirred up a storm whipping up the waves of the sea. Flung upward and plunged to the depths, they lost courage in the ordeal.
Then they cried to the Lord in anguish, and He rescued them from their distress. He stilled the storm to a gentle breeze and hushed the billows to silent waves.
How glad they were! He brought them safe and sound to the port where they were bound. Let them thank the Lord for His love and wondrous deeds for humans.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 