Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded that God’s love for us is truly beautiful, enduring and universal, and all of us are equally beloved by God, regardless of our background or origin, our race or beliefs, our cultures or customs, and regardless of any other parameters by which we tend to divide and separate ourselves in this world. All of us are God’s precious ones, and He has always looked upon us with love and kindness, ever since He created us from nothingness. That is why all of us are reminded of His love and kindness today, so that we do not take them for granted, and we do not forget all the great things that He had done for us all these while, as often we do not realise and recognise what God has always blessed us with.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the Lord speaking to His people through His prophet Isaiah, in which He reminded all of them to stay true to the Covenant that He has established with them, and how He showed them that He would also call all the other people of all the nations to be His disciples and followers, to be His people. It revealed to all of us that while God did call the Israelites first among others, but it was never God’s intention to exclude all others who did not belong to the race of Israel from His salvation and grace. All of us are equally the same children of mankind, descendants of Adam and Eve, all those whom God had created equally with love, and therefore share in His love and kindness. Therefore, God’s love are also extended to every one of us, who belong to Him and are part of His one, united flock and people.

In fact, as shown by our Gospel passage today, even the so-called pagans are even more committed, faithful and dedicated than the ones who called themselves God’s chosen people. In that passage, we heard of the interactions between the Lord Jesus, His disciples and a Canaanite woman who pleaded with the Lord to heal her daughter that had been tormented by a demon. The same woman was also identified similarly as a Syro-Phoenician woman in the Gospel of St. Mark, with similar request and pleading for the Lord to help her troubled daughter. Despite the Lord clearly having pointed out that He was only sent to the lost sheep of the chosen people of God, the Israelites, but the woman persisted in her pleading and trust in the Lord, that despite the harsh words and replies which she had received, she still trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly and persisted in asking Him to heal her daughter.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord did not do this on the woman on purpose, as it was not His intention to humiliate or make things difficult for her. And He did not despise or hate the woman either, as on the contrary, in fact, what the Lord was doing, was to highlight the unfortunate and terrible prejudices, biases and other things which the descendants of the Israelites, the Jewish people, by the time of the Lord and His ministry, liked to have against those whom they deemed as pagans and inferior to them. At that time, those who did not belong or were not counted among the Jewish people were often looked down by those who took pride in their inheritance and status, as those descended directly from the chosen people of God, the Israelites, descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to the point that the pagans or the Gentiles as they were often called, were perhaps even deemed as being sinners and unworthy of God.

That was why the Lord purposefully brought out the ugly and uncharitable nature of such biases and prejudices which the Jewish people had against their neighbours, and He used that example to show all of His disciples and followers, that they cannot show this kind of attitude in life, and that they must not treat others with contempt or disdain simply because they deemed themselves as better or superior in any way. And as mentioned, the Lord also wanted to highlight that there is innate good and grace in all of us, and the capabilities to embrace God and His love. As the Canaanite woman showed, that her faith in the Lord remained firm and strong despite the apparent rejections and harsh words from the Lord Himself. The Canaanite woman did not even hesitate to humble herself and to assume the position of a slave, a penitent and as one who sought for God’s mercy, before everyone who were present.

Now, this kind of faith was great, especially when compared to the lukewarmness of the faith found among the Jewish people of that time, who doubted the Lord and refused to believe in Him, even after He has performed so many wonderful miracles and works before them throughout all those times. In particular, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the ones who were the most knowledgeable and those who were supposedly the wisest among all the people of God, all these were entrusted with the knowledge of the Scriptures and the teachings and words of the prophets, which all pointed out to the Lord Jesus being the Messiah or Saviour that the people had long awaited for, and yet, they all failed to believe in Him, and on the contrary, they persecuted Him and His disciples instead.

If we are wondering as of why this was the case, then we do not have to look further beyond what I have just mentioned earlier regarding the problem of elitism and exclusivism amongst many of the Jewish people at that time, as they tend to see themselves as God’s chosen ones, and were therefore better, superior, more righteous and more worthy than all the others around them. Even among the Jews themselves, the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the religious elites tend to look down on those whom they deemed to be unworthy and sinners, like the tax collectors and the prostitutes, or those who were suffering from sickness and demonic possessions. All those people were often ostracised and blamed for their lack of faith, while the others mentioned earlier were lauded for their exemplary piety and faith.

Unfortunately, such an attitude led to the stagnation in the faith and the loss of focus in many among those that I mentioned, as their pride and ego got the better of them, which likely made them to think that they could never go wrong or be mistaken in their thoughts and ways of living their lives. This is why many of them became egoistic and proud, and unbending, rigid and elitist in their behaviour, imposing on others their ideals and thoughts, without truly understanding the importance and significance of their faith and the related practices, and in the end, it distracted them so much that they lost sight on what truly matters, that is their need to believe in God and to listen to His words, obeying His will and commandments wholeheartedly.

Not only that, but they were all, as God’s own chosen people, expected to lead lives that inspired others to come to know and recognise the Lord more. Instead, they chose to revel in fame and worldly glory, and closed themselves off from the Lord and His love, while excluding and ignoring all those whom they could have helped and guided towards God. All these had prevented many of those whom God could have saved through those that He had entrusted the care over His people, and hence that was why the Lord was often critical at their actions. This is why we should not follow their examples, and instead remind ourselves that God treats everyone, all of His beloved people equally, regardless of their background or origin, and regardless of whatever they were like, as what truly matters is how all of us follow God, and obey His Law and commandments.

What the Lord truly wants from us is our love and dedication, and not merely just lip service and outward expressions of faith and piety. We should indeed be inspired by the examples of the Canaanite woman, whose faith and determination to believe in the Lord were unwavering and true, undeterred even by opposition and prejudices, differences or discomfort. Like that of the many other examples of our holy predecessors, the holy saints of God, whose lives have been truly exemplary and worthy, and whose faith had been true and genuine, let us all therefore be the great beacons of God’s light and truth to the nations, while constantly reminding ourselves of God’s most generous love and kindness to everyone, that no one is truly out of His love and kindness, mercy and compassion. Let us all be the inspiration and strength for countless others who may come to know the Lord through us and our actions.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, continue to be with us and bless our ways, our works and good efforts, in everything that we say and do, so that hopefully more and more may come to realise the most generous and impartial love of God, ever poured generously upon us, and therefore many more may come to be saved and share in the joy of everlasting life that we shall experience and enjoy in the end with God. Let us all be the reflections of God’s hope and light, truth and love in our darkened world today. Amen.