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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are called as Christians to pay attention to our lives and how we live them. We are all reminded not to give in to the temptations of the world and the pressure to commit sin against God in whatever forms they may be, and we have to be always vigilant in ensuring that in all things we do in life, we will always strive to be exemplary in faith, in our every words, deeds and actions.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome, St. Paul exhorted the faithful to distance themselves from sin and all those things that could lead them to sin, reminding them how God had brought them out of the slavery of sin, liberated them and made them free. God had claimed them as His own people and made them to be His own children. Yet, many of them had not yet fully dedicated themselves to God and still allowed the corruptions of the world to affect and influence them.

That is why, St. Paul presented to them the reality, that if they were to choose sin over God and His grace, then they are heading towards death and destruction, while if they choose to walk with God in the path that He has shown them, then they shall inherit His rich inheritance and receive the fullness of His grace and promises. But they must therefore not allow the temptations of sin to distract and mislead them down the wrong path, which will end up bringing them towards the path of destruction and damnation.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard the Lord speaking to His disciples using the parable of stewards, as He related to them the story of a master who entrusted his household to a steward that was empowered and put in charge of the properties while the master was away. Then He told them how a good and responsible steward would be dutiful in discharging his duties and not be idle or complacent, while the lazy and unfaithful steward would squander away his time and even abuse his authority and power for his own benefits.

Then the Lord also spoke of how the master could suddenly just return unannounced, and He told His disciples how terrible it would be for the lazy steward to be caught unprepared and unaware, in the midst of misusing and wasting his talents and time for his own selfish purposes. And then on the other hand, how blessed it would be for the steward who is found to be hardworking and committed to his work by the master when he suddenly returns, as this one would be blessed and entrusted with even more, as is his just reward for his efforts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to these words from the Scriptures, all of us are therefore reminded to be vigilant and ready in living our lives with faith at all times. We must not allow ourselves to be lulled and caught unprepared by the coming of the day of reckoning, but must always be ready to live our lives to the fullest and as faithful and dedicated Christians at all times. We have to exercise prudent judgment in deciding our course of action in life from now on, and why is that so? That is because like the stewards in our Lord’s parable, we have been entrusted this world as its stewards.

Let us all discern carefully our path in life and see what we can do in order to live our lives ever more worthily as Christians, as those whom God had called to be His own and to follow Him in the path that He has shown us. God has given us the opportunities and the talents, the capacity to do what we ought to be doing in serving His cause, and now it is really up to us to pick up our crosses and answer to His call, and to follow Him wholeheartedly, that we may be inspiration to one another in how we live our lives. We should do our best to commit ourselves to this mission entrusted to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord continue to guide us and be with us throughout our journey in life. May He constantly strengthen us and empower us all to live ever courageously in His presence, and to walk always in His path, not swayed and tempted by sin and by the pressures and allures of desire in our hearts. May God bless our many good works and efforts, in all things, and may He lead us into His loving presence. Amen.