Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that the coming of the kingdom of God and the end times is something that will happen with certainty, as we are constantly being told these past few days as we approach the end of this current liturgical year cycle and as we are about to enter into the season of Advent. We are all called to be good and faithful Christians, in obeying God’s will, doing His Law and commandments, and in adhering ourselves to His path, to everything that He has shown and taught us all to do in our respective lives. We must always hold fast to our faith in the Lord despite the challenges, trials and difficulties that we may encounter in our lives.
In our first reading today, we heard of the apocalyptic account of the end times in the vision which the prophet Daniel had received from the Lord, a revelation which would be clarified and affirmed many centuries later by the similar apocalyptic visions received by St. John the Apostle. In that vision, Daniel saw the rise of the great and terrible beasts rising upon the world, with its power and might subjugating many nations and the world, only for all those wicked beasts to be eventually subjugated, overthrown and destroyed by the Lord when He comes again in the end of time, through the Son of Man Whom Daniel had witnessed, the One to Whom, the One of Great Age had passed and entrusted dominion, power and glory forevermore.
This vision of the prophet Daniel was indeed prophetic and revolutionary, as it showed the people of God that God has always remembered His people despite the trials, tribulations and the many challenges and trials that they might have to face amidst their lives in this world. Those wicked beasts, which later on St. John the Apostle would also see in his visions, represented the forces of Satan, the great enemy, the Devil, and all of his allies, which had been manifested in this world, and in all the forces of evils and destruction present all around us, in those tyrants and warmongers, exploiters and all those who sought worldly glory, power, fame and satisfaction at the expense of many others all around them.
Yet, as we have heard in that same reading, God revealed Himself and showed that He is greater than any one of those wicked beasts and the powers of evil. He showed that He is indeed the true Master and Lord of all, with might and glory surpassing anything that the devil and all the whole world could muster, and through His coming into this world, which Daniel foretold through these visions, by the way of the Son of Man, He has brought unto us the promise and the assurance of our liberation and salvation, which Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, that same Son of Man shown to the prophet Daniel, has revealed to us, shown us and affirmed to us, through His works, His ministry, His death and ultimately His Resurrection.
Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, by His coming into this world, Christ Himself has conquered and destroyed death, and broke free the chains of original sin and the tyranny of evil over us. He has shown us the direct and sure path towards eternal life and redemption through Him, and His Light has pierced through the veil of darkness and sin which has long kept us from realising and understanding God’s love and truth, and delivering unto us the warmth of God’s love and kindness, mercy and grace, manifested in the flesh. Through Christ, all of us have seen the perfect manifestation of God’s love and truth, which has become tangible and approachable to us, and we have been given the direct assurance that God is truly with us, by our side, at all times.
In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to be vigilant, reminding them that the signs of the times and the things happening around them are proofs and evidences that everything will happen just as He has revealed it, through the prophets like Daniel and through what He Himself has delivered and proclaimed unto their midst. That is yet another reminder and calling for each and every one of us as God’s followers and disciples, that we are all called to be genuine and faithful Christians at all times, so that in everything that we say and do, we will never be idle, ignorant or fail to recognise and understand the importance of obeying God and His commandments and Law, His precepts and ways, in all the things we say and do in our lives.
We cannot call ourselves as Christians unless we truly commit ourselves in not just words and formality, but also in genuine actions, and even in the smallest and least significant things that we do, in our daily lives, showing that we truly embody our faith in the Lord and not merely just having external faith and expressions of piety, but also a thorough and wholehearted desire to love and serve the Lord our God with all of our strength and might, as we all should have done. Each and every one of us as Christians have been called and entrusted with the mission to follow the path that the Lord Himself has shown and taught us, to walk in the path of His truth, righteousness and love. All of us should always be truly committed to the Lord therefore in all of our whole lives, in our every moments.
Let us all therefore do our best, brothers and sisters in Christ, so that in all and everything that we say and do in our lives, we will always be exemplary and be inspirational, so that everyone who witness our works and deeds, our words and everything, we will be truly faithful, committed and good. Let us strive that in each and every moments of our lives, we will always be truly worthy of the Lord, in all of our dealings, works and efforts, in all things. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 