Liturgical Colour : Red
Ephesians 2 : 19-22
Now, you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house, whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In Him, the whole structure is joined together, and rises, to be a holy Temple, in the Lord.
In Him, you, too, are being built, to become the spiritual Sanctuary of God.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of God in the Scriptures, we heard how the Lord called us to be His people, sending to us His Holy Spirit to show us the path forward, so that we may know how we should proceed in life in following Him. He has called us all to Himself, and revealed us His wisdom and truth through the Holy Spirit, but at the same time, that we may find our way to Him, as He gave us the freedom and free will to choose our path.
However, unfortunately, many of us chose to ignore Him and His truth, and even among us who call and consider ourselves as Christians, as those who should have believed in Him and walked in His path, many of us still lived in a state of ignorance and rejection of God. Many of us acted in a way that is in contrast to what the Lord had revealed, taught and shown to us. In that way, we are just like what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord chastised those who claimed to know the Lord and yet, did not truly know Him.
In that occasion, the Lord answered someone who asked Him if it was difficult for one to enter into the kingdom of God. The Lord told the man and the other people the reality that many people would try to enter into the kingdom of God and yet they would not be able to do so, because of various reasons. The Lord told them all that many would claim to know the Lord and sought Him, but they would falter along the way and would not find their way to Him, and they would be left outside, to suffer the eternal pain and consequences of their infidelities.
Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Why is it that following the Lord is such a difficult thing to do? That is because many of us prefer to follow our own personal ambitions, desires, our greed, ego and pride, over that of following the Lord and obeying His Law and commandments. The Lord has called us all to follow Him, and He has also revealed to us His truth, and yet, many still refused to do so, delayed to do so and walked elsewhere instead of going towards Him, all because we find that following the whims of our desires felt much better for us than to obey the Lord.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded through our Scripture passages today to stay focused on the Lord and to follow Him wholeheartedly. We are all called to turn away from the way of evil and sin, from our selfish desires, from all greed and pride. Are we all able to do this? Or are we going to continue to allow sin to lead us down the wrong paths in life? Sin is truly dangerous and unless we are vigilant and careful in how we live our lives, we may end up being dragged and pulled into our downfall.
Unfortunately, it is much easier said than done, and many of us often constantly fail to resist the pull and allure of temptations to sin, to disobey the Lord and to walk our own path. Every day we always face this dilemma, the challenges and the difficulties of staying true to our faith in God. This is where all of us have to be resolute and to persevere together, helping one another to stay true to our faith, and not to slide into the path of wickedness and sin. We have to do our best to listen to the Lord, to discern carefully our path in life.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has given us the gift of truth and wisdom as He has mentioned in our Scripture passages today, that through His Holy Spirit, He has revealed everything to us, and the choice is now ours to make, whether we want to follow the Lord and commit ourselves to Him or whether we want to continue walking down those paths of sin and evil. We have the free will given by God to choose whether we want to walk in the path of worldly pleasures, that may appear to be easy and all good now, and yet, leads us to eventual downfall and suffering, or whether we want to commit ourselves to the apparently more difficult path of Christ, and yet one that leads to eternal life and true joy.
May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, and may He empower us all to live ever more faithfully in His presence. May God bless all of us and our every efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, that we shall always find joy in living our lives as Christians to the best of our abilities. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 12 : 22-30
At that time, Jesus went through towns and villages teaching, and making His way to Jerusalem. Someone asked Him, “Lord, is it true that few people will be saved?”
And Jesus answered, “Do your best to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has gone inside and locked the door, you will stand outside. Then you will knock at the door, calling, ‘Lord, open to us!’ But He will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.'”
“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets!’ But He will reply, ‘I do not know where you come from. Away from Me, all you workers of evil.’ You will weep and grind your teeth, when you see Abraham and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves left outside.”
“Others will sit at table in the kingdom of God, people coming from east and west, from north and south. Some who are among the last, will be first; and some who are among the first, will be last!”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 12 : 4-5, 6
Look upon me and answer, o YHVH my God! Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, “I have routed him,” lest my foes rejoice of my fall.
But I put my trust in Your unfailing love, my heart will rejoice on seeing Your salvation. I will sing to YHVH, for He has been good to me!
Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 26-30
Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for us, without words, as if with groans. And He, Who sees inner secrets, knows the desires of the Spirit, for He asks for the holy ones, what is pleasing to God.
We know that in everything, God works for the good of those who love Him, whom He has called, according to His plan. Those whom He knew beforehand, He has also predestined, to be like His Son, similar to Him, so, that, He may be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And so, those whom God predestined, He called; and those whom He called, He makes righteous; and to those whom He makes righteous, He will give His glory.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures speaking to us about the coming of the Lord’s salvation and His kingdom, the kingdom that He has promised us, the kingdom of God to which we are all called to enter, to receive one day the fullness of glory, true happiness and pure joy that we can only find in the Lord alone. Today we are all called to turn towards the Lord and put our hope in Him.
In our first reading today, from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome, the Apostle reminded them all of the hope in God’s salvation, which all of them had been promised and which they would receive, if they could be patient and remain true to their faith, acknowledging how everyone had been looking forward to and desiring the love and salvation from God, after having suffered the many trials and challenges we have to face because of our sins.
St. Paul was in fact referring to the salvation of man from their original fall into sin. Mankind had chosen to listen to Satan and his lies, and to follow the temptations of their flesh and desires rather than to trust in God. And St. Paul reminded the faithful that all of us have to be patient and to persevere through the challenges that we may face in life. We cannot allow ourselves to be swayed easily by the lies of the devil, and all of his false promises, through which he and the other forces of evil ever always tried to distract us, mislead us and bring us into our downfall.
They would always try to tempt us with an easy life, that if we want to enjoy things we have and in our lives, and find pleasures in this life, then we should walk in the path that has been shown to us. In that way, they tried to make us regret following the Lord and instead turn towards the easier and more convenient path instead, one that has been presented to us as the better path in life. The Lord’s path certainly often seems to be the more challenging and difficult one to follow.
Yet, we must not lose faith, brothers and sisters in Christ, and we have to trust in the Lord and His providence. We must believe that if we remain faithful to Him, and true to His path, then in the end, there is nothing less than true glory and happiness in following Him. The Lord has always been faithful to the Covenant that He has established with our forefathers and which He had renewed and made evident to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.
In our Gospel passage today, we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us, as He spoke of the parable about the kingdom of God to the people listening to Him. He compared the kingdom of God to that of the mustard seed, which is planted and then later on would grow to be a large tree, from a mere small seed, and how mighty that tree would be as compared to the very small seed that was the mustard seed, from among the smallest of the seeds to be one of the largest among the trees.
Then He also compared it to the measures of flour with yeast, which is put together into dough and let to raise. When under the right and optimum conditions, the yeast would then make the dough to rise up and enlarge greatly when the leavened bread was to be made. However, just like the germinating mustard seed and the growing young mustard plant, everything would not have happened unless the right and appropriate conditions were provided.
That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, effort and commitment is need for us to walk faithfully in the path that the Lord has set before us. There will be opposition, challenges, trials and even persecutions facing us as we commit ourselves to this path set before us by the Lord, but we must realise that it is also part of the efforts of those who sought our downfall to lead us down the wrong path, by persuading us to give up the fight. We have to persevere in faith, brothers and sisters in Christ, and seek the true joy that we can find in the Lord alone.
Let us not seek the temporary joy and fulfilment that the false path of Satan and sin have offered us, but instead let us turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and love for Him, turning away from the path of evil and sinfulness, embracing His mercy and compassionate love from now on. May God be with us always and may He strengthen each and every one of us in our journey of faith through life towards the glorious kingdom of God. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 13 : 18-21
At that time, Jesus continued to say to the people, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed, and planted it in his garden. The seed has grown, and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”
And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast, and hidden it in three measures of flour, until it is all leavened.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
When YHVH brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then, our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.
Among the nations it was said, “YHVH has done great things for them.” YHVH had done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.
Bring back our exiles, o YHVH, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.
They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 18-25
I consider, that the suffering of our present life cannot be compared with the glory that will be revealed, and given to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth, in glory, of the children of God. For, if now, the created world was unable to attain its purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected it. But it is not without hope; for even the created world, will be freed from this fate of death, and share the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know, that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves; although the Spirit was given to us, as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day, when God will give us full rights, and rescue our bodies as well.
In hope, we already have salvation. But, if we saw what we hoped for, there would no longer be hope : how can you hope for what is already seen? So, we hope for what we do not see, and we will receive it, through patient hope.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to reflect on the words we have heard reminding us to be faithful to God and to love Him as the same way as children are loving their parents, because we are God’s beloved children through baptism, by which all of us have been made sharers in God’s inheritance and received God’s grace and blessings, His love and providence.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome about the matter of following God and His ways, that all Christians as God’s own beloved sons and daughters ought to be truly faithful to Him and the commandments and laws which He has shown and given to them through the Church and its Apostles. They have been freed from the slavery of sin by God, and correspondingly should no longer subject themselves to the power and corruption of sin, and hence, they ought to live a life that is worthy of God.
St. Paul wrote this to the faithful in Rome with the context that there and elsewhere across the Mediterranean, in other communities of the faithful, quite a few of the Christian populations who were newly converted to the faith continued to practice pagan rituals and beliefs, and worse still, continue to live in a state of sin, full of debauchery and wickedness. Those behaviours and way of life were incompatible with the Christian faith, and in fact bring scandal upon the Church and the sanctity of our solemn faith and profession.
That is why, St. Paul reminded all of the people, and then, which includes all of us, that everyone who believe in God ought to be thoroughly converted to the path of God’s truth and righteousness. We must never allow our worldly desires and the many temptations to sin to bring and lead us to our downfall. If we are not careful, we may end up falling into those temptations and ended up sinning again, unless we make the conscious effort to reject Satan and his temptations for us to sin against God. We must realise just how blessed we are to have been beloved by God, and we should treasure how we have been saved by Him.
In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord and His healing of the woman who had been crippled for eighteen years, who had been suffering and tormented by her afflictions. And it was an evil spirit that forced her into that state. No one had been able to heal her, until that moment when she came before the Lord, and the Lord noticing her, had pity on her and showed her His most generous mercy, healed her by likely casting out the evil spirit that had tormented and troubled her. He made her whole again and liberated her.
Yet, the officials of the synagogue and the members of the Pharisees who were present there criticised the Lord for having done the healing on the day of the Sabbath, which to them was against their very strict interpretation of the Law of God. The Lord immediately rebuked them and pointed out the folly and illogical nature of their argument and their rigid attitude, as double standard quickly appeared when comparing how the people untied their donkey and oxen even on the Sabbath to provide for their needs, while the suffering woman had to wait to be healed, if the Lord had acted in the manner desired by the Pharisees and the synagogue officials.
Instead, the Lord through His action showed us that we are all truly precious for Him, as His lost sheep that He has gathered again from among the nations, from all those scattered and spread far and wide, and we are all His beloved ones that He would do nothing less than give His own life in exchange for our salvation. Through His Cross, Christ has suffered and died a most terrible, humiliating and painful death, all for our sake, that we may have new life through Him, and share in His glorious Resurrection and the eternal life promised to us.
Having been beloved in such a way, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we still willing to allow ourselves to be commanded and misguided by our desires, and by the temptations to sin? Having been rescued and redeemed from our sins, are we still insisting on following a path of sin and evil, in disobedience against God? Are we still stubborn in our refusal to open our hearts and minds, in order to welcome Him into them, that He may dwell in us and we may be made wholesome like that suffering woman? Let us all carefully consider our path in life from now on, that we will walk in the presence and grace of God.
Let us all inspire and strengthen one another to live ever more faithfully in God’s path, and let us be exemplary in our every actions and interactions in life, so that all who see us, hear us and witness our works, will come to know the Lord and will know that we are truly His beloved children, and come to believe in Him as well. May God, our loving Father and Creator, continue to bless us and our good efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 