Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 32 : 1 and 12, 18-19, 20 and 22
Rejoice in YHVH, you who are just; praise is fitting for the upright. Blessed is the nation whose God is YHVH – the people He has chosen for His inheritance.
But YHVH’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving-kindness, to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.
In hope, we wait for YHVH, for He is our help and our shield. O YHVH, let Your love rest upon us, even as our hope rests in You.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Wisdom 18 : 6-9
That night had been foretold to our ancestors, and knowing in what promise they trusted, they could rejoice in all surety. Your people waited for both the salvation of the just and the downfall of their enemies, for the very punishment of our enemies brought glory to the people you have called – that is, to us.
The holy race secretly offered the Passover sacrifice and really agreed on this worthy pact : that they would share alike both blessings and dangers. And forthwith they began to sing the hymns of their fathers.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday all of us are reminded that we should not seek to gather for ourselves treasures of this world, all the riches and glory found in this world, all of which are truly transient in nature, and merely a distraction for us in our pursuit for the true treasures of our lives, which is the treasures that we can find in the Lord alone. And we are reminded of this fact today so that we may truly reevaluate our lives and directions so that we may be aligned to what the Lord has called us all to be in our respective various areas of life, in our various calling and missions, in each and every purpose that God has provided to all of us as His beloved and holy people, called to be His faithful missionaries in this world.
In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Ecclesiastes in which the author famously said the words, ‘All is meaningless, meaningless, meaningless!’ and how everything that mankind usually toiled, laboured and put their efforts for, all the hard work and all the things that they had done, all of these are ultimately meaningless as all the things that they had done, all that they had searched for, all these were ultimately not going to bring them good rest and peace in the end, as one’s desires, pursuits and ambitions usually lead to even more of what we want and desire in life. And that was why the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes used this to share with the people of God that they should not follow this path of ambition and desire in life.
But we must also be very careful that we do not end up misinterpreting or misunderstanding the intentions of the author of this Book of Ecclesiastes particularly with what we have heard in our reading today. The author did not intend for us to abandon all kinds of worldliness, or to reject all kinds of worldly works, labours and efforts. This is not what the Lord wants us all to do, and we must not think that He wants us all to leave behind our lives, our works, our actions and go forth to seek Him, while abandoning our responsibilities, our calling and mission in this world. It is dangerous if we only merely understood the words of the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes on the surface level without understanding the deeper meaning and purpose underneath all those words.
Indeed, in tandem of the reminder of our mortality as highlighted in our Psalm today, what all of us should take heed of is that we should seek to detach from unhealthy attachments, obsessions and desirees for worldly glory, fame, from all sorts of ambitions and things that can distract us in our journey towards God. We must always strive to keep ourselves free from those things that can make us to lose our way, just as St. Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians in our second reading this Sunday ought to remind all of us. The Apostle spoke of the need for all of us as Christians to embrace new life and existence in Christ our Risen Lord, having received from Him the path towards eternal life and salvation, by sharing in His death and resurrection.
All of us should always strive to keep ourselves free from what is wicked and immoral, what is distracting us away from God, our worldly pursuits and ambitions that make us to be so preoccupied and filled with desire that we end up forsaking God and His ways. In fact, some of these pursuits and ambitions, desires for fame and worldly glory, our attachments to various desires may lead us to disregard our responsibilities and duties in this world, to those whom we love and hold dear. This is why it is important that we must always be firmly rooted in our faith in God at all times, focusing and aligning our lives and actions with Him, so that we do not end up losing our direction in this life’s journey towards our Lord and Saviour.
Then, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to the people and responding to someone from the crowd who asked Him to be a judge between him and his brother. At any time and age, disputes between family members, friends and others regarding money, material wealth and privileges are commonplace, and it can really be very damaging in relationships. I am sure we have witnessed and heard how families, relationships and friendships are torn apart by these disagreements and conflicts, and unless we realise the folly of such arguments and contentions, then there will be only more of such heart pains and sufferings among us.
And in line with what our earlier readings from the Scriptures had highlighted to us, the Lord used a parable to show the folly of pursuing worldly ambitions and desires, such as what we often argued and bickered with each other for, for money, material possessions, status, fame and others. In His parable, the Lord showed how a rich man who possessed a lot of riches and wealth was so preoccupied with thinking and planning about where and how to store his wealth that he forgot about his own mortality and the impermanence of all the wealth and worldly possessions that he had accumulated. If that man were to die that very day, then all of the things that he had accumulated and gathered would have gone to waste, as none of them would follow him to the world that is to come.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we have listened from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures today and as we have discussed, we are all indeed reminded to keep ourselves away from all these unhealthy attachments and desires for worldly goods and matters. However, it does not mean that we neglect our affairs and works in this world, as at the same time God wants us all to be responsible and accountable in our actions and works, in everything that we say and do, so that by our responsible actions and deeds, by our accountability and reliability, our steadfastness in our interactions and ways of dealing with one another, and also our focus and emphasis on the Lord instead of the many worldly desires and ambitions around us, people may know that we are Christians.
May the Lord, our most loving God continue to help and guide us in our journey as we strive to live a truly faithful and committed Christian life. Let us all put God first and foremost in our lives and do our best such that in all things we will always live in accordance with His will and truly attuned to His will for us. Let us all continue to go forth courageously in each and every moments to proclaim our Christian faith, our belief and the Good News of God to everyone we encounter, not just through words but also through actions and by living up to our Christian teachings and ways, as the Lord has told us all to do. May God be with us all and may He continue to help and encourage us in our journey and good efforts and works, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 12 : 13-21
At that time, someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed Me as your Judge or your Attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”
And Jesus continued, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I shall do : I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I will say to myself : My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.'”
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell Me, who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not wealthy in the eyes of God.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Colossians 3 : 1-5, 9-11
So then, if you are risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on earthly things. For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is your life, reveals Himself, you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Therefore, put to death what is earthly in your life, that is immorality, impurity, inordinate passions, wicked desires and greed, which is a way of worshipping idols. Do not lie to one another. You have been stripped of the old self and its way of thinking; to put on the new, which is being renewed, and is to reach perfect knowledge, and the likeness of its Creator. There is no room for distinction between Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, foreigner, slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 89 : 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17
You turn humans back to dust, saying, “Return, o mortals!” A thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has passed, or like a watch in the night.
You sow them in their time, a dawn they peep out. In the morning they blossom, but the flower fades and withers in the evening.
So make us know the shortness of our life, that we may gain wisdom of heart. How long will You be angry, o YHVH? Have mercy on Your servant.
Fill us at daybreak with Your goodness, that we may be glad all our days. May the sweetness of YHVH be upon us; may He prosper the work of our hands.
Alternative Psalm
Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-9
Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.
Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!
Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put Me to the test.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) 1 : 2 and Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) 2 : 21-23
All is meaningless – says the Teacher – meaningless, meaningless! For here was a man who toiled in all wisdom, knowledge and skill; and he must leave all to someone who has not worked for it. This is meaningless and a great misfortune.
For what profit is there for a man in all his work and heart-searching under the sun? All his days bring sorrow; his work, grief; he has not, moreover, peaceful rest at night : that, too, is meaningless.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures that we are all called to remember the great love that God our Father has always consistently shown us, the most generous love which He has always given to each and every one of us regardless of our background and what we have done in our lives, whatever sins and wickedness that we have committed. God is always willing to love us and to show us all His most generous compassion, His kindness and patient care for all of us. God has provided us all the patient and ever enduring care and love of a Father, and like a father caring for all of his children, He has always been reaching out to us to help us find our way to Him, and to help correct us when we lose our way and fall into sin.
In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Genesis in which the story of the punishment that God was sending against the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was told to us, and we heard how Abraham pleaded with the Lord for the sake of Lot, his nephew, who was then dwelling in that region together with his family. Abraham asked the Lord to reconsider His decision on behalf of his cousin and any other people who were counted among the righteous still living in those two cities who might also therefore perish in the destruction. Abraham pleaded with the Lord asking Him to remember His love for His people, for all those whom He had created out of love, that He would not destroy those who have loved Him as well.
That was how Abraham kept on pleading with the Lord, kept on asking until he asked Him to spare those two cities as long as there were even only ten people who were righteous there, and God gave Abraham His words on this. Unfortunately, as it eventually turned out, there were not even ten people who were righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah, and only Lot and his immediate family were considered as such. But God did not abandon them in their hour of need, and in fact He immediately sent His Angels there to rescue them out before He was to send His destruction upon those two cities. Once again, this is how God showed His love to us all mankind, through all of the actions He had done for us, whether we realised it or not.
In addition, we should also not be prejudiced or judgmental as what people would have done against those they perceive were the sins of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The word Sodom had been misunderstood and misinterpreted for a long time, leading to the word ‘sodomy’ and used to judge and treat those who have same-sex attraction and relationships, thinking that God will punish all those who do so. The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were not such, and the fact that Lot himself offered his daughters to spare his visitors from the lust of the townspeople said as much, that their sins against God were that of lust in general and not referring to a specific attraction, and as some scholars had mentioned, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah treated Lot as an outsider, and they did what they did to attack him, and the two Angels sent to rescue him, whom they saw as more outsiders they despised. God loves all of His children, regardless of their background and differences, and we have to remember this fact, always.
In our second reading this Sunday, we then heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Colossae in Asia Minor, in what is today part of Turkey in which the Apostle spoke of the matter how all of us God’s faithful people, we have received great grace and blessings from God through the baptism that we have gone through, having been made parts of the Church of God, the Body of Christ, the communion of all those who believe in Christ. And through Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, all of us have been led to safety and liberation from our fated destruction, just as Lot and his family had once been saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by the hands of the Lord acting to save them out of their predicament.
As St. Paul the Apostle mentioned, we were all dead and we should have been destroyed due to our many sins and wickedness, but through Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and through everything which He had done for our sake, in the most selfless and wonderful sacrifice which He had offered on His Cross for us, in breaking His Most Precious Body and pouring out His Most Precious Blood for our salvation, as the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God, offered for our redemption, all of us have received the sure assurance of God’s grace and salvation, the promise of everlasting life and true happiness which we can achieve through the Lord alone. And through everything that God, our most loving Father, Creator and Master had done, we have indeed been rescued from certain destruction and damnation, showing us all the straight path to eternal life.
Then, our Gospel passage this Sunday from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray to the Lord, teaching them the prayer that is known as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ or Pater Noster, the perfect prayer that all of us should model our prayers after, filled with true faith and dedication to God our loving Father, praising and glorifying Him above all things and entrusting ourselves completely to His will and desires, knowing that we can completely trust in God and be assured that He will do everything that He knows we need, even when we ourselves may not realise or be aware of what we truly need in our lives. And He also taught us through that prayer how to ask the Father to grant us His blessings, our daily bread, and also to forgive one another our sins just in the same way that the Father has forgiven us ours.
Through this perfect prayer we are all reminded once again that we are truly fortunate to have a most loving Father Whom we can always ask in any circumstances and at any time. We can always seek the Lord and approach the Throne of His mercy, compassion and love. As such, we should not take God’s ever enduring and patient love for granted, all the kindness that He has always shown us. We should indeed appreciate and be thankful of everything that God had done for us, and continue to put our trust and faith in Him. After all, the Lord Himself said that, as our loving Father, He will not give us something harmful when we ask of Him, and He will always provide us with everything we need, and He will do so gladly, and He wants us all to call upon Him and to seek Him and His help.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to be ever more faithful to the Lord, our most loving God and Father, thanking Him ever always at all times for all the love that He has generously shown us. Let us all continue to serve Him faithfully and do our best to glorify Him and His Name by our lives, our every actions and deeds, and in our every interactions with each other. Like Abraham, who truly shows love and compassion in his actions, let us all also be loving and compassionate in all things, caring for everyone around us, and in not being judgmental against others whom we may deem or think to be less worthy of God than us. Remember that we are all sinners, and we all need God’s mercy, and instead, we should indeed show genuine love of God all the more to one another.
May the Lord continue to bless us all with His loving care and compassionate kindness, and may He continue to provide us with our needs, guarding us all from harm and leading us all towards the path to eternal life. May God bless our journey and every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 11 : 1-13
At that time, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught His disciples.”
And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this : Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”
Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is travelling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Do not bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I cannot get up and give you anything.'”
“But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.”
“If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Colossians 2 : 12-14
I refer to baptism. On receiving it, you were buried with Christ; and you also rose with Him, for having believed in the power of God, Who raised Him from the dead.
You were dead. You were in sin and uncircumcised at the same time. But God gave you life with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He cancelled the record of our debts, those regulations which accused us. He did away with all that, and nailed it to the cross.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 