Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reassured and comforted once again by the Lord through what we have heard in our Scripture passages, telling us all that we are all beloved and dear to Him, and nothing will happen to us without Him knowing it, and He will always take care of us even when we are suffering great persecutions and challenges in life, such as what the people of God, the Israelites had suffered in the past during their enslavement in Egypt. In God’s time and plan, He would rescue them all out of their predicament, sending His deliverance and help, as He has frequently done throughout history and perhaps to all of us as well. It is often that when we look back at what happened then we all realise what God had done and how He has always been there for us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard of the moment when God told Moses exactly what he was to do as he was sent to the land of Egypt to face the Pharaoh of Egypt and to tell the Israelites at the same time about the coming of God’s deliverance and salvation for His people. Moses was unsure and doubtful about how 

he could do such a work, as he was rather uncharismatic and had difficulties with words, not eloquent and was also unsure how he could introduce the Lord to the people who had been suffering a lot in hardships in their lives in slavery. But the Lord reassured Moses and told him that He would guide him and be with him throughout his ministry, his works and ordeals, in guiding His people out of their sufferings.

The Lord reassured Moses by telling him everything that He would do wonders through him, and made it clear to him what he would encounter and all the challenges that he would have to face in the midst of his ministry and works. Linking to the later Gospel passage of today, this is a reminder for us that God’s mission and calling for us is something that may be full of challenges and difficulties, but we must not be afraid to take them up because ultimately, like Moses himself, who accepted his calling and ministry, he trusted wholeheartedly in the Lord and putting his faith in His Providence, doing everything with God’s guidance and help, not by depending on his own strength or power. Otherwise, if he and the Israelites had used their own strength and means to liberate themselves, without God’s guidance, it would have been impossible.

Then, as we listened from our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we are reminded of God’s great and ever enduring love for each one of us, and how all of us as the beneficiaries of this wonderful love should trust in Him and believe in His path, and all that He has called on us all to do in our respective lives. The Lord told His disciples and followers that they all should put their trust and faith in God, and put their trust in the yoke that He offered to them. Why the imagery and comparison to a yoke? Again, the Lord was using this metaphor to deliver His intentions and teachings to the people, using terms that many of them were familiar with so that they could appreciate its meaning and understand better.

For many people who were working in the fields, as farmers and others who were aware of the agriculture works, the yoke is the burden placed onto beasts of burden, animals like buffaloes and oxen, or donkeys and mules which helped them to shoulder the weight of carriages and other weights placed on them. Therefore, this symbolism of the yoke is meant by Christ Himself to highlight that becoming His disciples and followers would mean struggles and difficulties will be part of those who have chosen to do so, but at the same time, He reassured all those, all of us who have embraced Him as our Lord, Master and Saviour that we will not have it difficult beyond our means to carry those burdens and endure them, it will be easier than we think it is.

As mentioned earlier, following Christ does not mean for us to enjoy all happiness, comfort and joy, unlike what some would have believed, and unlike what some people actually taught about believing in God, that this would have led to blessings and more good things, something known as the ‘Prosperity Gospel’. While it is indeed much nice, easier and more enticing to believe in that manner, that following God would have led to an easier and less challenging path for us, we must not understood what we have heard from our Gospel passage today and what is to be expected of our journey in life as Christians, as the disciples and followers of the Lord. We should not think that being the disciples of the Lord would mean instantaneous liberation from hardships and trials, as we might have hoped to be.

But the truth is that following the Lord would mean that we may have to choose the harder path or what may seem to be harder one as compared to the alternatives that we may have. Why is that so? That is because the alternative path, the path of worldliness and the paths advocated by the evil ones seeking our destruction will naturally look more attempting and pleasing for us. However, they all ultimately lead to destruction and damnation for us, and we must not easily be swayed by short term gains and pleasures which lead to us denying the true happiness, joy and satisfaction that will be ours if we remain firm in our faith and commitment to the Lord. And why the Lord said that His yoke is lighter and easier despite all these? That is because we are not alone in this journey, as the Lord is with us, always.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord is carrying our burdens, our crosses in life with us, journeying and walking with us at each and every moments of our journey. We must not forget that the Lord has always been faithful to His Covenant with His beloved people, and all the love that He has constantly shown us. And that is why today we are again reminded of this great love, and we should therefore do our best to live our lives most worthily as Christians, in obeying God’s will and doing our part to glorify Him and to proclaim His truth and Good News by our lives and examples. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Scripture which we have received today, we are all reminded of the great grace and blessings which God has given to us all, for all that He has done for us in each and every moments of our lives and in ensuring that we can attain true happiness and satisfaction through Him just as we have heard with the amazing story of reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. God has also called upon each and every one of us to be His faithful and holy disciples, sending us out on missions to reach out to many more people out there, in order to bring to them the Good News of God, Good News and truth that bring about transformation in the lives of those to whom we have brought them to, just as the Lord’s disciples had carried them out to the people to whom He was sending them at that time.

In our first reading today, as we have heard earlier on yesterday, it is the continuation of what we heard about the encounter between Joseph, the son of Jacob, who was then the powerful Regent of Egypt, the second most powerful person in all of Egypt after the Pharaoh himself, with his brothers who came from the land of Canaan. And at that time, the brothers of Joseph had not realised yet that the Regent of Egypt they were speaking to was in fact their own younger brother whom they had plotted against many years previously and sold off to slavery to a Midianite slaver who brought Joseph to Egypt. As I had elaborated and explained in yesterday’s homily and reflections, this was in fact part of God’s grand plan, putting into motion what seemed to be a tragedy, and turning it all into great things for everyone.

For as I mentioned yesterday, Joseph being sent to Egypt in fact became the catalyst for the events that would unfold for his whole family. Joseph would be the one to prepare for all of them to move over to the land of Egypt where they would prosper for some time before the eventual slavery their descendants would experience there, and all these were parts of God’s plan. God turned the humiliation and harm that was supposed to strike at Joseph into greatness, as he was rescued from his troubles and trials after many years, to be the one entrusted by the Pharaoh himself, the ruler of Egypt as his right hand man. That was how Joseph came to be the powerful Regent of Egypt, the one entrusted by the Pharaoh with the governance of the whole kingdom and the administration of its many rich resources.

And not only that, as I mentioned yesterday, through the shrewd administration that Joseph carried out, the wisdom that he had been given by God, he managed to save lots of grains and food in stockpile during the years of plentiful harvest that happened, in preparation for the seven years of famine that followed, which affected the whole entire world. Had Joseph not taken the precautionary steps and preparations earlier on, it would have led to countless people suffering from the famine and perishing, not just in Egypt but also in many other parts of the known world then. As it happened, Egypt had lots of food and resources, more than enough for themselves, and they could even sell to the other neighbouring countries and people, which set the stage for the reunion between Joseph and his brothers.

In what we heard in our first reading today was the moment, after Joseph first tested his brothers and discreetly showed that he knew them well even after all the years that passed, even when they all did not recognise him, eventually, after having asked them to bring Benjamin, his beloved younger brother to Egypt with them, and with Judah pleading on behalf of all his brothers to let Benjamin go as if he was to be kept in Egypt that would have doomed their father, Joseph eventually broke down and revealed to all of his brothers who he truly was. In a truly heartfelt moment of reconciliation and reunion, we saw the long awaited fulfilment of God’s grand plan, in turning evil and wickedness, darkness and jealousy into hope and light, love and reconciliation.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the instructions which the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples that He sent out ahead of Him, two by two to the different places and communities that He Himself would visit later on. This was so that they could do so many more works and impact the lives of so many more people, and the Lord told them all to carry no excessive items and goods with them, but just with their sandals and staffs. This was meant to let them to depend on the Lord for His Providence, through those people and communities that they were to encounter, rather than to depend on their own power and designs.

The Lord also reminded them that their paths and works might not be always smooth and good, as they would likely encounter rejection and opposition just as they would encounter successes and good results. But they must not let those to deter them from doing their works and missions, and instead, they should keep on going, doing whatever they could to glorify the Lord by their every works, efforts and endeavours. And this is therefore a reminder for all of us that we should also trust in the Lord in every missions, works and challenges that He has presented to us in our respective vocations and areas of responsibility in life. We should strive to do our best and be good role models and inspirations of faith for one another, at all times.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and reassure us all in our faith and in our journey through life, so that as He has shown and reminded us all through the story of the reconciliation and reunion of Joseph and his brothers, and what He Himself had told His disciples, all of us will be further strengthened and reassured, knowing that God has always been with us, and will always provide us all with everything that we need to move forward in life. May God bless us always in our every good endeavours, and help us in our every efforts and works, now and always. Amen.